MRAZ, The Reverend Franklin Jack “Brother Jack”—Of Ashland City, passed from this life into eternal life on Sunday, May 14, 2006. Brother Jack was born July 16, 1931 to parents, Lawrence and Dorothy Mraz, and brother, Don, in Cleveland, OH. He graduated from Willoughby Union High School in Willoughby, OH, and on June 29, 1951, married his childhood sweetheart, Shirley Mae Trisket. On June 29th of this year, Jack and Shirley would have been married fifty-five years.Brother Jack served in both the Ohio National Guard and on active duty with the U.S. Army in Korea during the Korean conflict. Upon completion of the Korean conflict, Brother Jack served as the Associate Director of The Marietta Children’s Home in Marietta, OH. With his acceptance and surrender to the “call to preach”, Brother Jack served in his first pastorate at The Congregational Church in Marietta, OH.
Jack and Shirley moved to Nashville so that he could attend the Scarritt College for Christian Workers, receiving his B.A. in Christian Education and his M.A. in Evangelism. Brother Jack was ordained as a Deacon in 1962 and as an Elder in 1964 in the Tennessee Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He served the following churches: The Park View UMC, The Pleasant View UMC, The Hobson UMC, The Hillcrest UMC, The St. Paul UMC, The Dodson Chapel UMC, The Ashland City UMC and The Scottsboro UMC.
Brother Jack preached more than 400 revivals in addition to many “Key Events” and “New Life Missions” for the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. He received “The Ecumenist Of The Year” award in 1997 and “The Denman Evangelism Award” in 1998 from the Tennessee Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
Upon his retirement, Brother Jack continued his two passions of 1), The Cheathan Couty Ministerial Alliance and 2), The “Valley Views” daily radio program on WQSV-AM 790. In the course of his life, Brother Jack spent almost one-half of his ministry in his beloved Cheatham County.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Don; and his son, Mark Allen Mraz. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; sons, Tim and Gary; Gary’s wife, Deborah and Mar’s wife, Debra; nieces and nephews; and his closest friend, Jim.
There will be no visitation. There will be a small “family only” funeral at The Middle Tennessee Veteran’s Cemetery, with the burial following. There will be a public Memorial Service at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at the Ashland City United Methodist Church in Ashland City, TN. This public Memorial service will be led by Brother Jack’s two pastors, The Reverend P.J. Shaffer of The Scottsboro United Methodist Church, The Reverend John Vaughn of The Ashland City United Methodist Church and the Ministers of the Cheatham County Ministerial Alliance. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to “The Bethesda Center”, 124 South Main Street, Ashland City, TN 37015 of The Cheatham County Ministerial Alliance. CHEATHAM COUNTY FUNERAL HOME, 615-792-2552.
Cards may be sent to:
Mrs. Shirley Mraz and family
232 Hillcrest Drive
Ashland City, TN 37015
posted by TN Conference UMC @ 7:26 AM
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