Deceased April 29, 2023
View alumni profile (log in required)
Read obituary
IN MEMORY
Frank Wurman, a gregarious storyteller with great affection for his family, Amherst College and the card game cribbage, died on April 29, 2023. Frank was 90 and lived in Elkins Park, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb.
At Amherst, Frank was a history major and a member of Theta Delta Phi fraternity and was involved in many college activities. He earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and practiced the profession well into his 80s.
“He loved Amherst very much,” recalled his widow, Nancy. “He must have had a wonderful time there.” She said he had several CDs of Amherst songs and often played them when they were driving.
Frank was an avid cribbage player and enjoyed encouraging friends and family members to join him. For decades he hosted a monthly grassroots tournament. Through the years, he built a large collection of antique cribbage boards in which pegs are placed in holes to keep score. But most notably, he once achieved a “29 hand,” the best a player can get and so rare that the chance of its happening are said to be 1 in 216,580.
Frank was a loyal fan of the Philadelphia Flyers NHL team and a season ticket holder for many years.
In addition to Nancy, his wife of 64 years, Frank is survived by three children—Bryna, Joseph and Richard—and six grandchildren. He took great joy in watching his family grow and loved to cook at gatherings. “Everything he cooked was great. I especially liked his chicken curry,” said Nancy.
She continued: “He lived a great life. He’ll be missed. He was very conversational. It’s very quiet here.”
George Gates ’53