Frank George Kevan

Frank George Kevan, 73, died Feb. 12, 2012, at his home in Covina, Calif.

Frank was born Oct. 29, 1938, in Bell, Calif., to Eva Mae Rhoads Kevan and Francis George Kevan. He had six siblings, Bonnie, Nancy, Alice, Mary, Jan and Richard.

As a child, Frank was in 4-H Club and raised Nubian dairy goats. He graduated from La Puente High School in 1956. He worked at Angus and Hereford ranches while in Southern California and had a small landscaping business that was short-lived.

He married Vicki Lee Brannan in 1958 and divorced in 1988. They moved from El Cajon, Calif., to Grants Pass, Ore., in 1960. While in Grants Pass, Frank pioneered logging roads and worked other various jobs, including building homes and apartment complexes.

Frank moved his family and five children in 1970 from Grants Pass, Ore., to Sitka, where he worked in logging with the Mud Bay Logging Co. He then went on to purchase a commercial fishing boat called the “Nesika” and spent several seasons fishing for salmon, cod and halibut with his two oldest children. In the mid-1970s in Sitka, he formed his own construction company and built many homes.

He and his family moved to Palmer in 1976 and he became employed on the North Slope. He was a member of the Operating Engineers Union No. 302. He operated a cat train, worked on ice roads, preparing the roads for the Alaska pipeline and various road construction jobs. After working several years on the North Slope, he began building homes in the Mat-Su Valley in the 1980s under his construction business, Kevan Construction.

After leaving Alaska in 1987, he relocated to California, where he lived until his death. Frank also was a longtime Moose Lodge member in both Sitka and Palmer.

Surviving re his five children, Connie Barnum of Oregon, Michael Kevan of Alaska, Arlene Kingery of Oregon, Becki McKinney of Oregon and Steve Kevan of Alaska; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; three sisters; and special friend, Pam Lee.

Preceding him in death were his parents, one brother, two sisters and one great-grandchild.

No services are planned at his request. Frank’s children will spread his ashes in Alaska.