R. Franklin Kern III of Big Sky, Montana and Palm Beach, Florida died suddenly
on March 2, 2020 in Miami while recovering from surgery. He
was 66.
Born
January 23, 1954, to Ruth Caroline (nee Selmser) and Raymond Franklin Kern, Jr.
in York, Pennsylvania, Frank is survived by his loving wife of 31 years,
Kristin Shutes Kern, and daughter, Kelly Huntley Kern. Kristin and Frank
met in Denver in 1986 and were married in Vail, Colorado, in 1989. He leaves
behind his sister, Cynthia A. Kern (husband Les Malcovitch) of Elmira, New York;
niece and nephew Jenny Malcovitch (Dr. Michael Kuzniewicz) of San Francisco;
John Malcovitch (Liz Ott) of Reno, Nevada; brother-in-law Kelly Shutes (Gretchen
Shutes) of Twin Falls, Idaho; plus four first cousins and their families; and
many devoted friends around the world. He was predeceased by his parents.
Frank’s ambition
and unrelenting intellectual energy was the catalyst for a remarkable career that
began at IBM in 1977 in Syracuse, New York. His fast-track within the company
led him to relocate with his family to Los Angeles; Sydney, Australia; Paris,
France; Tokyo, Japan; and Shanghai, China. Frank was a well-known champion
of diversity in the workplace throughout his career at IBM. In 2008 he returned
to the U.S. to Westport, Connecticut, and worked at the company’s Armonk, New
York, campus. He was a Senior Vice President of Gold Business Services when
he departed in 2012 to become CEO of KKR-funded Aricent, an innovation
technology company based in Silicon Valley. The company was acquired in 2018 by
France’s Altran, transforming it into the global leader in engineering and
R&D.
After the Aricent
sale, Frank’s interest and energies turned to Big Sky, Montana, the place that
he and his family have always considered to be their home. The long-term economic
welfare and quality of life in Big Sky was a priority of Frank’s, in part
because his wife is the niece of its founder, the famed NBC News anchor, Chet
Huntley, but mostly because he cherished the rare natural beauty of the
pristine Montana mountain town near Yellowstone National Park. He was committed
to ensuring that the current fast pace of growth in Big Sky was steered in
constructive, inclusive directions. He and Kristin purchased Hungry Moose
Market and Deli in 2019 and immediately launched a major expansion and improvements
that were completed last December. Frank also invested in the development of essential
workforce housing in Big Sky to ensure that those with year-round employment
had a place and a voice in its future.
Frank
graduated from Bucknell University with a B.A. in Political Science in 1975, serving
as president of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. He earned his MBA in Finance at
the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in 1976. He
graduated from Pennsylvania’s Carlisle High School. His childhood summers, like
those of his father’s, were spent at Camp Lenape Blue Sky in the Pocono Mountains
from the age of 7 through college, when he served as a camp counselor, and
tennis and water-skiing instructor.
Frank was
a powerful, passionate and compassionate man, fully devoted to his family,
work, and a brilliantly curated collection of loyal friends. Fearless
both intellectually and physically, his recreational hours were filled with downhill
skiing, riding his Harley Davidson, racetrack driving, sailing, staying fully
informed about the world around him and getting lost in his latest book.
The family extends
its heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Dr. Horacio
Asbun, Frank’s world-renowned surgeon and friend, who helped him navigate the path toward regaining his health and wellness.
Details
about a memorial service this spring in Big Sky, Montana, will be shared soon. In
lieu of flowers, please say a prayer for his extraordinary, optimistic soul.
