Francis "Frank" J. Chucoski

Frank Chucoski, 83, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma passed away peacefully on December 9, 2023, at Mercy Hospital surrounded by family.

Frank was born on January 5, 1940 in Coal Township, Pennsylvania to Joseph and Ellen (Marchetti) Chucoski. His family moved to Baltimore, MD when Frank was an infant and he was the oldest of five children. Growing up as a kid in Baltimore, Frank looked forward to Saturday matinees where he developed his fondness for movie serials, Bowery Boys, Charlie Chan, and 50’s Sci-fi movies. For sports, it was the Baltimore Orioles, Colts, Bullets (basketball), and Clippers (hockey). He graduated high school from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in 1957.

Working as a store stock boy at the age of 15, Frank met a young lady who was working as a ‘gift wrapper’ and who eventually became the love of his life, Mary Backus. Frank and Mary were married on October 10, 1958, and they were married for over 53 years with Mary’s passing in 2012.

To provide for his young family, Frank worked full time during the day and attended college at night. One month after his son was born he went to work at Baugh Chemical. He initially started out as a mail clerk but advanced within the company. He graduated in Accounting from the Baltimore College of Commerce in 1964 (now part of the University of Baltimore). Frank was the first in his family to earn a college degree. That same year he earned his CPA with the second highest score in Maryland for that year.

Now an accountant at Baugh Chemical, the company was acquired by Kerr-McGee Corporation in 1965. Frank was one of the few employees asked to move to Oklahoma City. Making a difficult decision, Frank and Mary moved their family to Oklahoma in August, 1966. As a longtime Kerr-McGee employee in Accounting and Administration, Frank mainly worked out of the OKC Headquarters but had tours in Houston, TX and Lafayette, LA. One of his and Mary’s highlights while in Louisiana was the annual Shrimp Petroleum Festival in Morgan City, LA. They also went to Banff, Canada on a business trip when Frank was part of an International Accounting Society. He retired in 1994, with 35 years of service, as the Assistant Corporate Controller for Kerr-McGee but was hired back as a Consultant several times after retirement.

Frank enjoyed playing golf with his son, Bruce, and he enjoyed competing in Kerr McGee Employee Golf Tournaments. His favorite family outdoor activity, when living near the Gulf Coast, was crabbing. Family vacations back to Baltimore always included a few days at Ocean City, MD.

Some of his favorite indoor family times included watching classic movies, listening to old-time radio shows, playing dominoes and poker. His love of these pastimes was shared with and passed onto his grandchildren. He often watched old horror movies like Frankenstein as well as comedies with Abbott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy. He loved TCM, ESPN and the Weather Channels.

His loving and surviving family include: son Bruce Chucoski (Sharon) of Tulsa; daughter Mary Ava Ables (Richard) of Edmond; daughter Lisa Barras (Ralph) of Troy, IL; and daughter Cindy Chucoski of Oklahoma