Frank P. Weil, a retired Air Force officer who went on to careers as a teacher at El Camino High School and a bridge tournament director on cruise ships, has died at age 91.
He died Oct. 23 of cancer, said his son, Curt.
He was a gregarious man who loved meeting people and sharing stories over bridge games with friends at the Dante Club, his son said.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943 and served with the acclaimed 8th Air Force in England during World War II. He flew 30 missions as a lead radar bombardier in B-17s and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters.
He rose to lieutenant colonel during 22 years in the Air Force. He flew B-50 planes on transpolar missions and worked as a navigation instructor in the Strategic Air Command. He retired after serving as master navigator for a B-52 wing at Mather Air Force Base.
He attended night classes while serving in the military and earned a bachelor's degree and teaching credential at Sacramento State. He spent 15 years teaching English at El Camino High School. A life master in contract bridge, he also organized and served as faculty adviser for the school's Bridge Club.
Mr. Weil combined his skill at cards with a passion for travel during a third career on cruise ships. He spent more than 15 years teaching bridge and running tournaments while traveling to ports around the world.
"He liked the challenge of bridge," longtime friend Allison Russell said. "I never played with him because he was way too good. He was a longtime life master."
Frank Phillip Weil was born in 1918 in Patterson, N.J. His parents were Ukrainian immigrants who raised four sons and ran a grocery store. He worked as a cub reporter and advertising writer for a local newspaper after high school.
He had two children with his first wife, Lucille, who died in 1965 after 22 years of marriage. His second wife, Elina, also was a life master in contract bridge. She died in 2005.
Mr. Weil had lived in the Town and Country neighborhood since 1956.
An avid photographer, Mr. Weil shot 35-mm films of his cruise trips. With those, he created professional-quality travelogues that he showed at senior citizen centers.
A voracious reader and stickler for proper grammar, he was fond of "bad puns that would make people groan," his son said.
"He was too vital to hang it up" after his Air Force career, Curt Weil said. "He taught me to live life fully day by day, and say 'yes' to every opportunity."
Call The Bee's Robert D. Dávila, (916) 321-1077.
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