Franceway C. (Frank) Stratton III

Franceway Cossitt Stratton, III, “Frank”, age 92, of Ashland City, TN, passed away, Wednesday, April 30, 2014. Funeral services will be conducted Sunday, May 4, at 2:00 PM at the Ashland City United Methodist Church in Ashland City, TN with the Rev. Loyd Mabry officiating with eulogy by Rev. Penny Stratton. Burial will follow in Forest Hill Cemetery in Ashland City, TN, with, Joe Roberts, Otis Nichols, Rick Johnson, Scottie Poole, Bill Wilson, Vaughn Carus, Jimmy Miller and Scotty Wyatt serving as pallbearers. The family will receive friends at Cheatham County Funeral Home on Saturday from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Frank was born May 26, 1921 in Nashville to the late Franceway Cossitt Stratton, Sr. and Lucille Stone Stratton. He spent his childhood in Neptune, TN, with his family later moving to Ashland City, TN where he attended elementary school. He then received a football scholarship to Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia where he played under the legendary coach, Red Sanders. After being offered more scholarship, he attended Morgan School in Petersburg, TN. He continued his post-secondary education at Morgan School as well. Before the Second World War, he joined the National Guard. In 1941, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and became a bombardier on a military aircraft guarding the Caribbean Islands against German U-boats. Near the end of WWII, he was transferred to Clovis, New Mexico, where he met Peggy Marie Walters, whom he married in 1944. He and his new wife moved back to Ashland City in 1945 where he became a businessman and owner of a Ford dealership called Stratton Motor Company. In 1951, he became a Shell gas distributor for five counties with a business in Springfield, TN called B & S Oil Company, Inc. In 1974, he sold B & S and created Stratton Family Properties, LP and Stratton Management, Inc. in Springfield. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Ashland City Bank & Trust Co. and the Dominion Bank in Ashland City. He was a member of the Ashland City United Methodist Church for over 65 years. He became a Scoutmaster of Troop 128 in Ashland City and served on the Regional Board of Directors for the Boy Scouts of Middle TN. He was a founder and 68-year member of the Ashland City Lion’s Club, as well as a founding member of both the Springfield and Sycamore Valley Country Clubs. He was a 32nd Degree Mason and a Jester in the Al Menah Shrine Temple in Nashville. He also belonged to the Elks Club in Brentwood. Frank was an avid golfer and had a love for boating and jet skiing well into his 80’s. He had a unique whistling style, which allowed him a memorable radio performance. He and Peggy shared a passion for dancing, which they did frequently. After the passing of his wife of almost 60 years, he continued to dance with his companion, Sharon Ballard to his favorite band, the Valentines, whose members include James Moon, Charles Myers, Paul Easley and Frank Howard. He enjoyed his boat on Old Hickory Lake, where he and his wife spent many weekends entertaining friends and family. He was an avid football fan of Vanderbilt University where he attended college after his military service. He had been a Vandy football and basketball season ticket holder since 1946 and was also a member of the Vanderbilt Commodore Club. He is survived by: his sons, Franceway Cossitt Stratton, IV (Charlotte) of Smyrna; Steven Walters Stratton (Penny) of Ashland City and Austin Kipling Stratton of Ashland City; daughter, Shelley Stratton Jones of Nashville; his sister, Gloria Stratton Carus, of Wilmington, NC; his friend and close companion, Sharon Ballard of Ashland City and special friend to the family, Thelma Wilson of Ashland City; his grandchildren, Grayson Jones, Parker Jones, Stratton Jones, D.K. Stratton, Austin Stratton, Kelsey Stratton, Elizabeth Stratton and Katherine Miller along with several great and great-great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Ashland City United Methodist Church and Ashland City Lions Club, in care of the Cheatham County Funeral Home. Cheatham County Funeral Home 615-792-2552 cheathamcountyfh.com

Franceway C. (Frank) Stratton III

May 26, 1921 - April 30, 2014