From Frank the Farmhand to “Shine” the Hall of Famer

Frank grew up on a family farm in a small town called Dobson, in Surrey County, North Carolina. Before sharing his story, he said with a good-natured laugh that he hoped everyone could understand his North Carolina accent.

As a young boy, Frank was up at dawn milking cows and working the farm with his parents and four siblings. The farm was in the family for generations and Frank’s family raised tobacco, corn, soybeans and wheat, as well as all the food that reached their dinner table.

“Growing up on a farm, I didn’t have anything else to compare it to,” Frank said. “We didn’t have running water or a bathroom. Everything was manual but that’s all I knew and I was happy. I had a loving family and that was enough for all of us.”

In seventh grade, Frank was almost six feet tall and a teacher asked him if he wanted to play basketball. That one simple question changed his life as he became a basketball and baseball star at Dobson High School in the early 1950s. Frank’s talent and all-around great play earned him a full scholarship to play college basketball—and baseball—with an iconic nickname: Shine. Humble man that he is, it took Madeline Kalush, the Life Enrichment Director at American House Grand Blanc, to point out that Frank averaged 25 points per game as a forward during his basketball career.

Besides being a 6-foot-5-inch star on the basketball court, “Shine,” as everyone in North Carolina calls him to this day, was an imposing pitcher on the mound with possession of an intimidating fastball. In 1957, a baseball teammate from Oak Ridge Military Academy asked Shine if he wanted to spend the summer in Flint, Michigan. Not long after arriving, Shine got in line at a metal fabrication plant and they called his name. He went into the office and they asked him if he wanted a job.

Shine said yes. It was October 21, 1957.

“It’s a good memory for me,” Shine said. “When I got my first paycheck, I had never seen so much money in my life. I worked at General Motors for the next 31 years as a supervisor and department head.”

In 1959, Shine met his future wife, Barbara.

The happy couple wanted to marry right away, but the U.S. Army called. Shine spent the next two years serving his country. He got out of the Army in June 1962 and Shine and Barbara were married six months later. They spent the next 60 years together. Barbara, sadly, passed on August 5, 2021.

“I had a beautiful life with my wife,” Shine said. “It’s hard to explain being by yourself after being with someone for so long. But I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I loved my wife. We adopted two beautiful children and happily raised them together.”

In 2017, Shine was nominated for the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame by the coaches and friends he once played with.

“I was 80 years old when that happened,” Shine said. “What an honor. I was lucky playing basketball, but I don’t brag about it. There were other guys on the court playing as hard as I did. I had great teammates.”

He has been at American House Grand Blanc less than a year, but sometimes he gets “upset” because he doesn’t have anything to complain about.

“American House is a perfect place for me,” Shine said. “I wouldn’t change one thing. I love it here. The people here are beautiful. The food is great. I’m happy with everything. I’m amazed how efficient everything is. I’m turning 90 soon and I hope I’m here another ten years.”

When asked what wisdom he may share with younger people about how to live a happy and successful life, Shine didn’t hesitate.

“What it really comes down to is being a good person,” the Hall of Famer said. “Right and wrong is something you instinctively know and you need to live by that.”