Floyd Earl Frame of Colorado Springs passed away unexpectedly in his home July 21st, 2015. He was 86 years old going on 56. He was born January 7, 1929, to Halo Augusta Atnip and Floyd Winfield Etchison. He was a resident of Colorado Springs for 85 years. He is survived by his wife, Jerolyn Frame; his two children, Kim (Bryan) Gilman and Bryan (Cinthia) Frame; seven grandchildren: Sarah (John) Gallucci, Zach Gilman, Maria (Matt) Whitt, Kierra Gilman, Kaylee Gilman, Koby Gilman, Kaila Frame; and one great grandchild, Mikah Whitt. He is also survived by sister, Pam Etchison, and brothers, Jerry Frame and Bob Frame.
Floyd graduated from Colorado Springs High School in 1946 and Colorado College in 1954 with a masters in music. Floyd began playing the trumpet at the age of 10 and became a professional musician by the time he was 13. He was a performer, conductor, and instructor of many, and loved Big Band Jazz music most of all. He was the first instrumental music teacher in District 2, where he met his wife, who was also a music teacher there. They married in 1960, and had children in 1965 and 1967.
Floyd’s two main passions in life were music and providing for his family. He combined both by having concurrent careers in music and real estate.
During the early years in his career, Floyd ran the instrumental music program for District 2, played in a dance band seven nights a week, taught private trumpet lessons, was president of the Pikes Peak Musician’s Association, and ran his real estate business on the side.
His real estate career began with the purchase of his first rental house in 1948 at the age of 19. He continued purchasing rental properties, and fixer uppers while he and his wife did all of the management, cleaning, and maintenance throughout many ups and downs in the real estate market. He felt that real estate was a great investment, because he said the real estate market always comes back.
He became the director of the Colorado Springs Community Band in 1982 and started the Colorado Springs Community Jazz Band in 1984. He started the Midland Brass Group in 1994 and retired from Harrison School District 2 in 1996.
His dedication to a healthy lifestyle brought him to the Pikes Peak Y on a daily basis and he found a great community of friends there over the last 40 years. Because he had such a dedication to exercising, eating healthy and taking vitamins, his heart attack and following triple bypass in 2010 came as a complete shock. He bounced back quickly from the surgery with a stubborn old school toughness and had relatively minor health issues until his death this past week.
Floyd was admired and respected by all who knew him, especially his family, fellow musicians, and numerous recipients of his gracious teaching and talent. He was kind, generous, disciplined, dedicated, talented, driven, loyal, witty and had a determined work ethic. His favorite advice for his family was, “work hard and save your money.” He is deeply loved by his wife, children, and grandchildren and will be greatly missed by so many in the Colorado Springs community.
A funeral service is scheduled for Monday, July 27th at 11:00 a.m. at the Shrine of Remembrance, with a reception immediately following. Visitation will be on Sunday from 12-2 at the Shrine of Remembrance, and preceding the funeral service at 10:30 on Monday at the Shrine of Remembrance. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Floyd’s name may be made to www.thegiftofmystory.org.