Frances Marie Platske

Frances is survived by her daughter, Susan Teague, four grandsons, Scott Martin, Chris Teague, Chad Teague, Dale Teague; six great grandchildren, four great great grandchildren and a sister, Lucy Brookshire. Frances is preceded in her death by her husband, Emil Platske, and her daughter, Kathryn Martin Lipka.

Frances was adopted by a Lighthouse Keeper, Alva Carpenter and his wife Marie at age two. The great adventure of living on three different Lake Superior Lighthouses, (Two Harbors, Outer Island and Raspberry Island) set the multi-faceted, creative stage for Frances entire life. The first gift to emerge in her young life was singing. She learned the popular songs of the day as she played them on the victrola at the lighthouse station. Her gift for singing became quickly evident as she became the featured soloist at several churches and community events. Talent competitions proved her the favorite. Her singing won first place every time. One of Frances’ great thrills was singing with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra on stage in Chicago. Frances’ singing career took second stage when she married her husband, Emil Platske. After her two children became school age, she discovered a talent for acting, consistently being cast in the lead roles in local community theatre productions. “Meant for the stage,” was the common newspaper review. Her music ability emerged when Emil surprised her one day by buying her a piano at which the entire family discovered she could play any song  by ear. Music, singing and acting however, were just the prelude to another new exciting adventure, a career as a watercolorist artist lasting 40 plus years. Her hundreds of paintings that expressed her personal love affair with lighthouses and waterscapes are still treasured in many private homes and museums today.

The flair for writing became evident to the public when she entered the world of publishing in 1994. The printed publication of “We the Keepers’ Kids,” a collection of true lighthouse stories in ballad form, immediately brought her recognition calling the artist and writer now to begin  the life of public speaking tours. Her dramatic, powerful and sensitive reading of the lighthouse ballads and her own retelling of genuine heartfelt colorful lighthouse experiences have brought immeasurable wealth and understanding of beauty to all those she met. Frances’ journey of living on lighthouses has been featured in National Geographic, Northern Lights book, dozens of news articles and magazines throughout her artistic career. In the late 1960s Frances formed the Lighthouse Keepers Association originally to bring together retired lighthouse keepers, their families and friends. The organization was renamed Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association in the 1980’s with the dedicated purpose of restoring and preserving Great Lake Lighthouses.

Family and friends are invited to a memorial for Frances Thursday, August 25, 2022, that will begin at 1:30 p.m. with a sharing of memories and celebration of life at the Adams Funeral Home, 502 West Michigan Ave., Paw Paw. Following services, there will be a time of food and fellowship at the funeral home until 4:30 p.m.