Merrill “Skip” Frink passed away on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, at the age of 84, culminating a multi-faceted life filled with medical care giving, music, forestry and just plain tinkering with just about everything.
Skip was born in the Moscow mountain foothills to Orrin and Jessie Frink, the second of three children. He received the “Skip” moniker after a mischievous movie character and the name stuck. He attended Moscow schools and had an inquisitive streak that was never quite outgrown. Skip combined a love of all things mechanical with a vibrant sense of humor.
After graduating from Moscow High School, he cowboyed for a year and wrote lots of letters to Carol, his future wife. They had met through a family connection and he moved to Kansas to be closer to her. They married and initially studied together at the Bethany Nazarene College in Kansas. Returning with Carol, he studied at the University of Idaho, graduating with a bachelor’s degree, and expanded the family to three with the addition of their son Darrell. They then moved to Lewiston receiving nursing degrees from Lewis-Clark State College.
They briefly returned to Kansas where Skip received a master’s degree in health administration from Fort Hays University and got a pilot’s license. He then worked as the dean of the nursing program at Hesston Mennonite College in Hesston, Kan.
Skip’s caregiving and curious nature pulled the family to medical missionary work. They served in Tanzania from 1975-77 with the Mennonite Central Committee and in Kenya from 1988-92 with the German-based Christian Blind Mission International. His work focused on treating eye disease, especially trachoma. He taught preventative eye care in elementary schools. When the hospital or doctors needed unavailable equipment Skip would go to the workshop and make it.
Between and after these foreign jaunts, they lived in the Palouse area, with Skip working as a nurse followed by counseling gig at the Elk River High School.
Skip loved to be outdoors. He worked to revive the family farm and forest in the Moscow foothills. In addition to introducing more modern logging practices, he helped restore the woodlot and the land around the farmhouse, building a pond and overseeing the planting of 50,000 trees.
Skip’s hands were busy throughout his life. As a child, he constructed an array of matchbook models. While a student at the University of Idaho, he could successfully oil paint with both hands. Around the house, he had a never-ending lineup of construction projects and small engine repairs.
As a musician, he was inspired by his wife Carol and the two enjoyed music wherever they could find or make it. He played the mandolin, a homemade washtub bass, and was an inveterate whistler. He and Carol headed up the local Old Time Fiddlers Association for 13 years, stepping down after medical issues with his shoulders diminished his ability to play an instrument.
His later years were plagued with poor health. Throughout this, Skip was buoyed by his Christian faith and a never-ending curiosity and sense of humor.
Skip is survived by his sister Donna Miller, wife Carol, son Darrell and his wife Loida, and three grandchildren: Jessica, Lucas and Lyca Joy.
A celebration of his life will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, at the Nazarene Church, 1400 E. Seventh St., Moscow, followed by a time of fellowship and luncheon.
