Frank James Drown (1922 - 2018)

Born 30 Sep 1922 in Curlew, Palo Alto, Iowa, United States

Died 22 Jan 2018 at age 95 in Missouri, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Zachary Jon Smith [send private message]

Frank Drown is Notable.

Biography

Frank Drown (September 30, 1922 - January 22, 2018) was an American author and former missionary. He and his wife Marie were missionaries with Gospel Missionary Union and worked for 37 years with the Jívaro Indians of eastern Ecuador, who were known for their head shrinking.[1]

The Drowns worked alongside missionary Roger Youderian and his family for three years in the 1950s. They had also been instrumental in directing them to the mission field. In 1955, Roger joined with four other missionaries in Operation Auca, an effort to reach the Huaorani, another Indian tribe in the area. When the five men turned up missing, Drown led the ground search party into Huaorani territory to locate the men. They discovered four of the bodies, including Roger's and buried the men in a mass grave. Drown led a quick funeral service at the gravesite before a severe tropical storm blew in. Roger's wife Barbara continued to work with the Drowns for many years after Roger's death.

In 1959, after 15 years living in Ecuador, and three years after his fellow missionary had been killed, the Drowns were asked to write a book about their lives as missionaries. After the success of Elisabeth Elliot's best-seller Through Gates of Splendor, the publishers believed such a book would be in demand. And so the Drown's co-authored a book which became their memoirs. It is called Mission to the Headhunters.

Drown was interviewed for the 2004 documentary Beyond the Gates of Splendor where he described in detail what happened during the search party's expedition.^[1]

Frank J. Drown, 95, Harrisonville, MO passed away Jan. 22, 2018. Services will be at 2 pm, Sat., Jan. 27 at Avant Ministries, 10000 N. Oak Trafficway, Kansas City, MO 64155; interment at Greenlawn Cemetery. Visitation will be 6-8 pm, Friday at Speaks Suburban Chapel., 18020 E. 39th St., Independence, MO 64055. In lieu of flowers the family requests contributions to Avant Ministries. Frank was born Sept. 30, 1922 in Curlew, IA to Jay R. and Mary (Cross) Drown. He earned his Bachelor of Divinity at Northwestern Bible in Minneapolis, MN where he also met his wife. Together they served as missionaries in Ecuador for thirty-seven years for Avant Ministries. After returning to the United States, he owned Frank’s Tree Farm north of Smithville, MO. Frank loved meeting people, telling stories and trips to Canada fishing for Walleye and Pike. He was a member of Open Bible Church in Belton, MO and loved to sing hymns. Frank was preceded in death by daughter Irene Derksen, brother Blaine Drown, twin sisters Ruth Brallier and Ruby Jackson, brother Robert Drown, sisters Grace Porter and Elizabeth Asp. He is survived by his wife of seventy-three years Marie Drown, of the home; daughter Linda Root, Raymore, MO; son Ross Drown and wife Kathy, Asheville, NC; son Tim Drown and wife Ahping, Jakarta, Indonesia; daughter Laura Erdel and husband Dave, Santo Domingo, Ecuador, S.A. and nineteen grandchildren.

Published in Kansas City Star on Jan. 24, 2018^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Drown
2. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/186845075/frank-james-drown

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Drown
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/186845075/frank-james-drown

See also:

• Wikipedia: Frank Drown
• Wikidata: Item Q5486306, en:Wikipedia