Gail Dewayne Frank

Gail Dewayne Frank passed away peacefully at his home in Hotchkiss, Colorado, on November 2, 2026, at the age of 84, following a 14-year battle with prostate cancer.

Gail was born October 9, 1942, in West Britt, Iowa, to Martin Frank and LaVerna (Peterson) Frank. The third of six boys, Gail grew up on the family dairy farm, where hard work was simply a way of life. His childhood was spent milking cows, raising feed, and working the land, first behind plow horses and eventually with tractors. It was also where his lifelong love of horses began.

As a boy, Gail would herd the family's dairy cattle along the county roads, where they could graze on the free feed growing along the roadside. Somewhere along those roads, his dream of becoming a cowboy took shape. He enjoyed Saturday nights roller skating with his brothers, was proud of his Methodist medals, and sometimes preferred returning home after Sunday church to do chores and train his horse rather than visit with family. Even as a young man, Gail knew what he loved and was determined to pursue it.

In high school, Gail discovered wrestling, a passion that would become another defining part of his life. After graduating from high school in 1959, he headed west to attend Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. He paid his way through college as a telephone lineman, climbing poles to string telephone wires and using his own horse to haul poles into remote locations. He graduated in 1964, becoming the first in his family to earn a college degree.

Gail completed his student teaching in Denver, where he began coaching wrestling and teaching mathematics. His father, Martin, helped him in one memorable way during that time by buying him suit coats and dress pants, many of which Gail continued to wear throughout his entire teaching career. His 1957 Chevy Bel Air carried the license plate 007, earning him the nickname "Bond" among his students. He led the school's wrestling team to its first league championship.

Although Gail enjoyed playing tennis, which he picked up during his student-teaching years, he preferred the rural life. He often said that everything fun in the city cost money. In 1966, he took a teaching and coaching position in Hotchkiss, Colorado, bringing along his horse and motorcycle. He found a place to call home in the North Fork Valley, where he could pursue his dream of teaching, coaching, farming, and ranching.

During the summers, Gail continued his education, eventually earning his master's degree plus 60 additional graduate credits, placing him in the highest-paid educational bracket of the Delta County School District.

Gail was determined to build a life of his own. He began working on the property at 3232 J Road even before it was officially for sale. After meeting his first wife, Cherry Hinton, the two purchased the property, which was in considerable disrepair. Gail went to work after school, clearing the junkyard, replacing the roof with the help of Bill Groome, building a machine shed, and bringing the land back to life. He plowed, planted, and harvested hay, using the proceeds to pay off the farm and his Massey-Ferguson tractor as quickly as possible. Getting ahead was always his goal.

One of his favorite sayings captured his philosophy: "Plow deep while the sluggards sleep, and you'll have corn to sell and keep."

He began raising Hereford cattle and enjoyed competing in the Cherry Days coal-shoveling contest, where he took home a win alongside Johnny Marta and Jess Miller. He was happiest when he could combine hard work with a little friendly competition.

A Coach Who Made a Difference

For 21 years, Gail taught mathematics, social studies, and PE, and coached wrestling at Hotchkiss Middle and High School. He was a determined coach who believed in hard work, discipline, and the potential of every wrestler willing to put in the effort. His philosophy was simple: "Have fun, get better, don't quit."

He expected his wrestlers to honor their commitments, including sobriety contracts during the wrestling season. He led by example, even accompanying wrestlers' parents to the bar and ordering orange juice to demonstrate that he, too, was committed to their sobriety.

His dedication and tough workouts paid off. In 1970, he coached Jake Jacobs and Richard Coleman to state championships. Jake, only a few years younger than Gail, became a lifelong friend. Gail also brought his wrestlers to the farm during the off-season, paying them to pick rocks and rewarding their hard work with spaghetti dinners.

Over the years, Gail coached multiple individual state champions and helped develop wrestlers who would go on to become successful coaches themselves. Among them were Ken Taylor, Chuck Piper, and Andy Pipher, all of whom went on to earn Colorado High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors, as Gail himself did.

His teams placed third at the state tournament in both 1983 and 1984, helping establish a wrestling tradition that would continue for years. Never one to settle for what was already known, Gail took his wrestlers as far as West Virginia to learn new techniques and improve their takedowns. He believed there was always something more to learn and another level to reach.

Gail also enjoyed the lighter side of school life, helping his fellow teachers defeat the students in a donkey basketball game. He could be demanding, competitive, and tough, but he wanted his wrestlers and students to succeed, both on the mat and in life.

Family, the Farm, and Life in the North Fork Valley

Gail's first marriage to Cherry Hinton eventually ended. He later met Janice Woods, originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the school cafeteria at the combined Hotchkiss K-12 school, where Janice taught first grade. They fell in love on horseback at Gail's ranch and married in 1974.

Janice joined Gail on the farm, where she began gardening, raising chickens, and remodeling the interior of the farmhouse. After years of hoping and struggling to have children, their family grew in the spring of 1981 with the birth of their first daughter, Sara Anne Frank, followed by Natalie Astin Frank in 1983.

During their years together, Gail continued to balance teaching, coaching, farming, and ranching. He also found time to pursue other interests. He upped his tennis game and learned to ski, approaching both with his characteristic enthusiasm and competitive spirit. On the ski slopes, he embraced the famous saying, "Let 'em Crack!" pointing his skis downhill and racing down the mountain. Whether on the tennis court or the ski slope, Gail was always ready to improve, challenge himself, and have fun.

He enjoyed hunting in the West Elks with fellow teachers Johnny Marta and Phil Woodruff, hunting pheasants with Jess and Chuck Miller, and raising barley for Coors. His life was always full of projects, pursuits, and the next thing to accomplish.

Gail and Janice's marriage ended in 1985.

Never one to sit still for long, Gail turned his energy toward physical challenges. He participated in the first Ride the Rockies cycling tour through Colorado and took great pride in being the first rider to reach the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. He also took up running in earnest, competing in the Ima Jean Pass race and starting the 100 Mile Club at Hotchkiss Middle School. Students who logged 100 miles earned a T-shirt, and Gail encouraged them to discover the satisfaction of setting a goal and working toward it.

The Cowboy Years: Horses, Competition, and New Dreams

Gail retired from teaching and coaching in 1997, but retirement never meant slowing down. It simply gave him more time to pursue the dreams he had carried since childhood: raising, breeding, and training horses.

Always a student of his interests, Gail studied natural horsemanship and built a round pen on the farm to work with his horses. He believed in teaching a horse to "learn from the release," developing understanding and trust rather than relying solely on force.

During the 1990s, he became involved in team penning, turning part of his hay yard into a practice arena where he could work cattle and sharpen his skills. His interest in horses grew into a passion for breeding and training reining horses. He traveled to Texas to purchase broodmares and learn from successful professionals, including Sean Flarida.

He spent countless hours practicing, always looking for ways to improve. He befriended Bub Poplin in Delta and made frequent trips with a trailer full of horses, often accompanied by his neighbor and friend Lisa Roberts. They helped one another learn, practice, and become better horsemen.

Gail loved the competition and especially loved winning. One of his proudest accomplishments came at the Summer Slide in Denver, where he won the novice horse non-pro class aboard Rusty, beating out approximately 140 other riders. After a tie, the win had to be decided in a run-off. With his characteristic competitive spirit, Gail insisted on letting the lady go first before taking his turn to see if he could beat her (and he did)

He also won non-pro futurity competitions in Utah with two horses he had bred and trained himself, Bodacious and Lucy. Those wins represented years of hard work, learning, patience, and dedication to the horses he loved.

Still Building, Still Growing

In his later years, Gail continued to invest his energy in the farm. He turned his attention toward raising black baldy cattle, an Angus-Hereford cross, and making the property more productive and efficient. He installed drill-stem corrals, a pivot sprinkler, and numerous cross ditches with gated pipe to make every bit of irrigation water go further.

He took pride in making the farm "handy," always looking for another improvement, another project, or a better way to do something. The farm was more than property to Gail. It was the fulfillment of a dream that had begun long before he ever arrived in Colorado.

Throughout his life, Gail was a man of determination, independence, hard work, and competition. He believed in getting ahead, learning something new, and never giving up. Whether he was farming behind a tractor, coaching a wrestler, training a horse, riding his bicycle, skiing down a mountain, or improving his ranch, he approached life with the same drive and commitment.

He had a lifelong love of the cowboy way of life, and he built a life that reflected it.

Gail passed away peacefully at his home on November 2, 2026, following a 14-year battle with prostate cancer. He leaves behind a legacy of hard work, championship wrestlers, well-trained horses, a farm he built with his own hands, and countless memories shared with family, friends, students, and fellow competitors.

Gail is survived by his brother, Doyle Frank of Dolores, Colorado; his daughters, Sara Anned (Frank) Puharich of Paonia, Colorado, and Natalie Frank of Hotchkiss, Colorado; his sons-in-law, Michael Puharich and Marcus Hamby; and his grandchildren, Sierra Puharich, Braylena Hamby, and Bodhi Hamby.

He will be remembered as a teacher, coach, farmer, rancher, horseman, competitor, father, grandfather, and friend. Above all, he was a man who pursued his dreams with determination and lived life on his own terms.

"Have fun, get better, don't quit."

A fitting motto for a life well lived.

Memorial Service

A memorial service celebrating Gail's life will be held on Sunday, November 15, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, 190 E. Bridge St., Hotchkiss, Colorado.

Family and friends are invited to gather to remember Gail, share stories, and celebrate a life lived with determination, passion, and a love of the cowboy way of life.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in his name to the North Fork High School Booster Club.

The full obituary is available at www.taylorfuneralservice.com.