Frank Laughlin, Laughlin,
May 1, 2009

Frank Edwin Laughlin, Jr., age 80, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and formerly of Quincy, died suddenly on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 7:27 at Blessing Hospital, while visiting friends in Quincy and his family farm in the Meyer district.

He was born at Laughlin Hospital in Keokuk, Iowa August 16, 1928 to Frank, Sr. and Marie Burkes Laughlin.

On August 14, 1963, Mr. Laughlin was married in Ozark, Arkansas to Lois Stice. He and Lois attended the Vermont Street United Methodist Church in Quincy. Frank was preceded in death by his wife Lois on December 22, 1989. There union was blessed with Lee Laughlin who survives and lives in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Mr. Laughlin started his life's journey by attending three area colleges and universities: Culver Stockton, Quincy College and Western Illinois University. His love for repairing pinball machines while at Western Illinois caused him to take an electronics course and attain his first class engineering license. He was working for the ABC radio network in Chicago in his early twenties. He was twice wooed to work at WGEM radio and hired to develop a new television station for the Herald-Whig. He rode a train to New Jersey to purchase all the electronics for a full television station at the age of twenty-five. From the time the FCC allowed television stations to be built again after World War II on August 1 of 1953, until September the 4th, Frank engineered, built and placed Quincy's first television station on the air. To this day no one has matched his feat. It is at the station Frank met his business partner, production talent Mel Elzea. The friendship was destined to be one of the longest in broadcast history as they have owned and operated several companies they nurtured through and up to March 2003. The base of operations started in Quincy, Illinois and shifted to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1979.

Frank joined his partner in Tulsa in 1982 and resided in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma until his death. Their partnership of some of their firsts include: First regional intercom and sound company, Closed Circuit Communications of Quincy. First to interconnect private phone systems to all three major telephone companies in the USA. First cable television production company of Quincy. First to build and operate a twenty-four hour Class C FM station, KGRC and first to rename Tri-State to Great River Country. First, national cable television remote production company in America. Frank engineered and his partner managed, sold, produced and directed programs all over the United States for all the major networks and many regional television station networks and cable systems. One of the best of the first was his building a computer in 1977, then building the alphabet and zero through nine, one pixel at a time. Interfacing it to broadcast sync allowed Teleproductions Unlimited to become the first computer graphics controlled remote unit in the world. They were seven years ahead of the networks on sports graphics of statistical information on their sports productions for their clients. They stayed there because their two sons followed in their respective father's vocations and advanced that system keeping them well ahead in the field into the nineties.

Staying in touch with his partner, working his computer and keeping up-to-date with new electronic information kept Frank current on some of the new technologies. The day before his death he toured the new WGEM facilities in Quincy and boasted of their accomplishment since he left there in 1969 and was excited about what they were doing. He told his partner, who had a lot to do with the beginning of Dogwood Festival, that is was still celebrated and was happening this weekend. When he received the call from his partner in Tulsa just hours before his death, he shared his last two days in Quincy with an enthusiasm not heard from him for some time since their closing of the partnership of Teleproductions Unlimited (1977 to 2003.) Frank's last first, the longest running joint-partnership in remote television production history.

Services: held in Floral Haven Cemetery and Chapel in Tulsa, OK. Burial in Floral Haven Cemetery.

Visitation: Tuesday from 4-7 p.m. at Hansen Spear Funeral Home.

Memorials: American Cancer Society

Website: www.hansenspear.com

Hansen-Spear Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements.

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