Mollica, Frank Antonio Sr., went to the arms of his Lord on April 22, 2009.

He was the son of the late Pietro Antonio Mollica and Catherine Cozzo Mollica. His country of origin was Italy. He was born in Mann, West Virginia, October 10, 1927. He was a graduate of St. Clairsville High School.

Frank served in the United States Army (1947-1950) serving in Germany where he got his start in auto mechanics. He was proud to be a veteran and serve his country. He graduated from McKinley Vocational School in Auto Mechanics where he was coordinator of MIG welding classes. He worked at Richland Motors in St. Clairsville as Service Manager. He also worked with A.J. Flaccus Inc as Service Manager before joining Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel as a foreman and then general foreman/manager of the truck division and advanced to superintendent of the material handling division until his retirement in 1993 after 30 years of service. He is a long time member of St. Mary?s Catholic Church in St. Clairsville and served as an usher for many years.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife Beverly Benita Chance Mollica in 1980 and his sister, Theresa (Jim) Bean of Pittsburgh, Pa.

He is survived by his wife, Linda S. Mollica; his sons, Peter A. Mollica and Frank A. Mollica Jr. of St. Clairsville; a daughter, Vanessa (Todd) Bumgardner of Bellefontaine, Ohio; stepsons, Jason T. Bryant of Cleveland, Ohio and Thomas A. Bryant, III of Wheeling, WVa; his beloved grandson, Ethan Thomas Bryant of Wheeling; sisters, Rose Recconce of Pittsburgh, Pa and Angeline (Tony) Caristo of Florida; and his brother, Gennaro (Helen) Mollica of Pittsburgh, Pa.

Frank will be remembered fondly for his homemade bread, wedding soup and gnocchi, black raspberry pies and his homemade sauerkraut and the abundance of vegetables that came from his gardens every year. Frank was a gardener as was his father. He was able to grow anything he planted. He will be remembered for his tomatoes he so loved, which were from the original seeds his father brought over from Italy in his pocket. He never tired of planting and weeding with his "hunky" hoe that was his father?s. He believed in familia and family always came first.

He was an avid hunter of deer, squirrel, turkey and rabbit. He loved to fish and made several trips to Florida and Canada to fish with his good friends. Frank also loved muscle cars of years ago and did what he and his friends could to increase the amount of rubber on the back fender when testing the speed. He was a true Italian and continued all of his life to follow the traditions of his heritage and of that of his father. He spoke English, Italian, French and German and often sang the songs of his youth in all languages. He was well versed in Shakespeare and Latin.

Frank was a true gentleman, honorable in all ways and never had a bad thing to say about his fellow man. He was a man of honor, integrity, compassion and generosity. He will be missed by so many good friends and family who shared time with him on this earth.

Family and friends will be received at Toothman Funeral Home in St. Clairsville on Friday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral Liturgy with Mass will be held at St. Mary?s Church, St. Clairsville on Saturday at 12 p.m., with Father Anthony Batt as celebrant. Burial will follow in Union Cemetery, St. Clairsville.

There will be Full Military Honor Services conducted on Friday at 3:45 p.m. in the funeral home by the Belmont County Council of American Legions.

Memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 11454, Alexandria, VA 22312 or online at www.diabetes.org.