FRANK M. VERDUCCI

92 years old

Cupertino, California

Frank died on June 30th, 2025. He was surrounded by his three children.

He was born on October 21st, 1932 to Frank John Verducci and Evelyn Condencia in San Francisco. His father drove a truck for the San Francisco Chronicle, and his mother took care of him by cooking amazing Italian meals, despite the fact she was Portuguese. Frank loved sports and after playing basketball at Lincoln High, he played both soccer and basketball at San Francisco State University where he became a member of the United States All-American Soccer team.

While coaching soccer at SFSU, he got lucky and met a beautiful nurse named Norma Elliott. They fell in love over a blood pressure cuff and were married in Sausalito. Frank got a job teaching and coaching at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and they started their family. Frank decided he wanted to go back to school and was accepted into the EdD Program in Education at Stanford University. With three young children in the house, he often studied in the car in the driveway, leaving the chaos in the capable hands of Norma. After graduation, he was invited to be a Professor of Physical Education at his alma mater, San Francisco State.

At SFSU, he was the assistant Basketball Coach for seven years, and head coach for two years. He enjoyed his time as Department Chair and Director of the Graduate Program in Kinesiology. He was known as a tough but fair grader, and his office door was always open to his students. While teaching, Frank became a highly sought-after consultant, writing the Physical Performance Entrance Exam for the U.S. Air Force Academy, San Francisco Police and Fire Departments, and doing research on the use of cryotherapy to delay sports fatigue. He presented at the Olympic Conference on Sports Science in Greece, Australia, and Monaco, and wrote the textbook Measurement Concepts in Physical Education.

Frank loved his family more than anything and was delighted when his grandchildren arrived. He and Norma spoiled them terribly, and single handedly kept the Lego Corporation and The Buttery Bakery in Santa Cruz afloat.  He also loved betting on the Cal-Stanford Game, and was unashamedly proud of the fact that one of his Berkeley friends owed him "many" bottles of Jack Daniels.

Frank and Norma loved to travel and visited all seven continents. But his favorite trips were taking his children and grandchildren to Italy, Maui, Cape Cod, Lake Tahoe, and the family home in Bodega Bay.

His favorite activities were having coffee with his friends, watching sports (Go Stanford!) and hanging out with his family. He continued to remain active after his beloved Norma passed away in 2021.

Frank's kindness, generosity, and quiet entrepreneurial spirit will be deeply missed. We loved him so much.

His advice to everyone was, "Don't wait to enjoy your life. Do it now." Preferably with a Jack Daniel's in hand.

He is survived by his children, Pat, Sue, and John, and their spouses, Ryan, Tripp and Mary. He has six grandchildren, Anthony, Henry, Nick, Nate, Elliott and Cara.