G. Frank Page Jr. | Funeral director, 81

G. Frank Page Jr., 81, a North Philadelphia funeral home director, died of coronary artery disease June 28 at his home in Elkins Park.

Mr. Page was owner and operator of the G. Frank Page Jr. Funeral Home at 1748 W. Erie Ave. for more than a half-century.

Born in Washington, Mr. Page was raised in Scottsville, Va., until age 8, when his parents sent him to live with relatives in Elkins Park to get a solid education.

He attended Abington High School, but enlisted in the Navy before graduating. He was steward on the destroyer escort Thomas F. Nickel, then left active duty for the Naval Reserve and was honorably discharged in August 1958.

Mr. Page earned his GED at Temple High School and graduated from Eckels Mortuary School in 1947.

In 1953, Mr. Page opened his funeral home. To help pay the bills, he also worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 32 years, retiring in 1983. He was active in the funeral home until he died.

Mr. Page met the former Rosemary Monroe in April 1952; they married in December, and had three daughters. Rosemary Page died in 2005.

Mr. Page loved to entertain, and welcomed guests into his home as if they were family. He enjoyed deep-sea fishing, playing pinochle, and following sports, especially golf and tennis.

Surviving are daughters Maureen, Jule Patterson, and Virginia Page-Rollerson; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.

Services were yesterday. Interment was in Whitemarsh Memorial Park, Prospectville.