Cheryl Frarck continues her art, theater work after retirement

Cheryl (White) Frarck grew up in North St. Paul with one younger brother. They walked about three-quarters of a mile to their elementary school but were only about a block away from the North St. Paul High School.
She tried girls’ basketball, which at that time was half court because it was thought too physical for girls to play the full court. She was so much taller than the others so Cheryl would foul out of the game many times. At 6’ 1” she was taller than the boys center on the high school basketball team.
She said she was shy and introverted so she was a real book reader but also became interested in art and theater. Due to her height, Cheryl said she was left out of the main roles in plays and so she became involved with the back stage parts of theater and costumes.
Cheryl received a scholarship to Jamestown College, which at that time was a private school, to study studio art, but transitioned to art history because she was interested in the past and the vision of art. She was scheduled to go on a J-term trip to Greece, with her visa and arrangements all made, but the trip was canceled because there was a political coup.
When the tuition tripled, she transferred to the University of Minnesota-Morris with a major in speech and theater plus a minor in English. She graduated with a BA in English/Language Arts and a teaching certificate.
While at Morris she was invited by a college friend to come along for the weekend to her home. They had a very spirited paint pony that Cheryl climbed on to ride bare back as they didn’t have a saddle available. The horse took off and jumped over the manure pile with Cheryl hanging on for dear life just as a carload of local boys drove up into the yard and the sight of her horse riding adventure gave them a good laugh.
That evening Cheryl and her friend went to the town pavilion for the dance and the same group of guys were there and they started to laugh once again about the incident earlier that day.
Quinten Frarck was with the group so they started talking that evening. Cheryl thought he was a great listener and quite humble, but he was leaving for the Navy the next day. He asked for her mailing address as he said he would write to her but she still wondered if she would ever see any letters from him. They carried on a four-year letter romance during his four-year Navy commitment. They were married in 1971.
Cheryl taught English Language Arts for one year at Waconia High School but the business teacher across the hall complained that her classes were too noisy. That summer she sent out many applications to schools and received an interview with the principal at Maynard, Minn. He offered her the position and she stayed there for four years and really became part of the community and found many friends.
The Frarcks lived in Granite Falls so driving the 12-mile distance in the wintertime was not easy at times. One day school was dismissed early so she left soon after and followed the snowplow back to their home in Granite Falls. Another teacher didn’t leave until a couple hours later and was telling how bad the driving conditions were and how she just wasn’t making any progress. She heard a knock on her car door and a highway patrolman told her that he had seen her brake lights and she was stuck sitting in a field!
After Quinten finished his CNC training, he found a job in Fargo so they moved there and Cheryl enrolled in a commercial arts school. She worked on one project for a Christmas store layout but said she really hated the design she had created and finally tore it up. Her instructor was horrified and told her she needed to complete the project so she later made a design that she liked much better. She got all dressed up to go to another business client and the owner asked her what did her husband think of her doing this kind of a job.
His final comment that sent her packing was when he asked her if she could make coffee. Cheryl said she really hated drawing refrigerators, so she enrolled at Moorhead State University for a MS in Speech/Theatre.

While Quinten was working in Fargo, a friend mentioned he might be interested in applying at the Owatonna Tool Company. They moved to Owatonna and Cheryl did some substitute teaching when they lived there for a year.
She got into contact with the Mantorville Theater and started working with them. In 1977 while working on a play, Kasson resident, Gloria Engle, mentioned that she should consider looking for a job at KM as her husband, Larry taught there. An hour after her interview she received a call that the job was available as an instructor had just resigned. They bought a house in Dodge Center, as this would be part way between their jobs in Owatonna and Kasson.
In 1985 the Frarcks adopted their daughter Alicia from South Korea. The doctors kept telling them she was lactose intolerant but when they would give her a little ice cream she quickly ate it up with no bad effects. Cheryl started mixing skim and soy milk with no issues, so finally the doctors concluded she wasn’t lactose intolerant.
Cheryl taught at KM in the English department for 36 years and also directed plays for several of those years.
Cheryl has also worked with the Mantorville Theater, Rochester Civic Theater, Rochester Rep Theater, and Plainview Theater, not only appearing on stage, but as a director, and writing scripts. She enjoys both acting and directing, depending on the script but works hard not to act and direct the same play.
The Frarcks enjoyed traveling so they decided that after retirement, they would use her retirement money for trips to Alaska, Panama Canal, Russia and on the Danube River. Some of these trips were enjoyed traveling with Karl and Lynette Huppler of Mantorville.
In April 2017 Quinten received the prognosis that he had metastasized prostate cancer. He tried several chemo and radiation treatments and finally in May 2019 the medical team told him there was nothing more they could do, although Quinten kept fighting and kept saying he would get better.
In September 2019 Quinten passed away at Seasons Hospice, his pain had ended, and he was at peace with a smile on his face. Cheryl said she did everything she could do to help him and misses him every day.
Cheryl continues her art work, weaving, and theatre work, even in COVID. Many of you may have seen Cheryl on a local TV commercial for the Rochester Elder Network portraying a lonely woman at a local park sitting by herself at a park bench.
She also recently wrote scripts and took part in the Walk Through History at the Evergreen Cemetery in Mantorville. Cheryl has created excellent pen and ink barn scene drawings plus watercolor art work. She has a 12-year-old granddaughter so this also helps keep her mind stimulated with her questions. Cheryl gets her exercise each day walking her dog, Gwendolyn, along the Kasson neighborhood streets, and it is fun to see them out and about.

him there was nothing more they could do, although Quinten kept fighting and kept saying he would get better. In September 2019 Quinten passed away at Seasons Hospice, his pain had ended, and he was at peace with a smile on his face. Cheryl said she did everything she could do to help him and misses him every day.
Cheryl continues her artwork, weaving, and theatre work, even in COVID. Many of you may have seen Cheryl on a local TV commercial for the Rochester Elder Network portraying a lonely woman at a local park sitting by herself at a park bench. She also recently wrote scripts and took part in the Walk Through History at the Evergreen Cemetery in Mantorville. Cheryl has created excellent pen and ink barn scene drawings plus watercolor art work. She has a 12-year-old granddaughter so this also helps keep her mind stimulated with her questions. Cheryl gets her exercise each day walking her dog Gwendolyn along the Kasson neighborhood streets, and it is fun to see them out and about.