Franklin M. Dicus

Franklin Maurice “Frank” Dicus was born on November 17, 1934, in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Leon Ellis and Virgie Rose Nethercutt Dicus who resided in North Little Rock. He was the youngest and “best looking” (Frank says) of seven children, two brothers and four sisters, and “was spoiled” by his sisters (according to his wife Judy). Frank was raised in First Baptist Church at 4th and Poplar in NLR and said every Sunday was always an “all day affair.”

Frank attended Woodrow Wilson Elementary School and Fourth Street Junior High where he played running back for the 1948 State Champion Bulldog football team (having only 8 points scored on them) and where he ran track for the 1948-49 State Champion Bulldog track team which set the state record in the 440-yard relay. At NLR High School, Frank played football and ran track. The 1951 Wildcat team (9-1-1) beat Little Rock HS 14-13 on Thanksgiving Day, one of only six losses Coach Wilson Mathews and the Mighty Tigers had in Arkansas over an 11-year coaching career. In 1953 Frank was Honorable Mention All State Football and was the State Champion Low Hurdler in track. He was in the school choir, and in a number of crazy skits and variety shows where he sang with his buddy who played the guitar. Frank was the sports writer for the school newspaper, the Hi Comet. He had scholarships offered from Arkansas Tech and Little Rock Jr. College after his senior year but turned them down and went to work for Armour Star Packing in Little Rock as a clerk typist on the shipping deck. The company’s logo was “Armour Star—The Best There Are.”

In August 1954 Frank was drafted into the US Army and was sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for processing and then to Fort Gordon, Georgia, for basic training. From there he was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, with the 53rd Signal Battalion D Company, 3rd Corp where he was a crypto operator. While at Fort Hood Frank was put in Special Services where he ran track for the post team (basically just to get out of a lot of company work). In August 1956 he was discharged and returned to NLR and in September enrolled at Arkansas State Teachers College (ASTC) (now the University of Central Arkansas) on the GI Bill (free money @ $110 a month). What a deal!

While at ASTC, Frank met his future wife, Judy. He pledged Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity his freshman year and was a very active member. In track and field, he was a four-year letterman and ran on two Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) Championship teams. Frank was elected Senior Class President and was also in Student Senate where he was social chairman, where he tried to plan a dance almost every weekend (what else was there to do back then)? He also was chosen to be in Royal Rooters, a Who’s Who of the college. Frank was a Lifetime member of the Letterman’s Club which entitled him to free admission to all sporting events at UCA.

In June 1960 Frank graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Sociology with a minor in Business but the bigger event for that month was getting married to his soulmate, Judy Parker, of Camden, AR. They started attending First United Methodist Church on Poplar Street which later merged with FUMC on JFK Blvd. They had a house built in NLR and the first thing they bought when they moved in wasn’t a bed or dining room table or couch but instead was an English Setter hunting dog. If you’re a bird hunter in Arkansas, you’ve probably noticed there aren’t a lot of quail. That’s because Frank’s favorite hobby and passion was quail hunting. He hunted those delicious birds all his life ever since he was a kid, and he hunted every weekend and any days of the season he wasn’t working. He usually came home with the maximum limit every day. He had several dogs during his life, many colorfully named including Lady, Musket, Kiddo, Brandy, Little Bit Birdie, Goldy My Ear, Jam, Action Jackson, Spot, Dancing Dandy Roo, Duce, Jo Jo, and Lu Lu to name a few. He also hunted pheasant in Kansas and did a little bit of squirrel, deer, and duck hunting, as well as some frog gigging and fishing.

After graduation Frank went to work for International Business Forms in Little Rock as a manager trainee, working in accounting and data processing. In 1970 he was promoted to Data Processing Manager of International Graphics. In 1977, Frank went to work in sales for Favorite Check Printers and stayed there for the next twenty-five years traveling all over Arkansas calling on banks and savings and loans. Frank retired in 2000 with 41 years of service.

After retirement Frank continued working, once for the Arkansas Legislature for the 2005 session, and then worked for ten years as a courier for Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow Law Firm in Little Rock. He was also the chairman of the Board for Member Service Federal Credit Union in Little Rock.

At age 65 Frank started participating in the Arkansas Senior Olympics to see if he still had some athletic ability. Evidently, he did. He won close to 100 medals (mostly gold) in track and field over the next 20 years and holds the Arkansas state record for age 75 for the standing long jump, the running long jump, and the triple jump.

Frank was very outgoing, well-liked, and had an excellent sense of humor. He loved the Razorbacks, enjoyed gardening, yardwork, dancing, and traveling. Frank was a lifelong member of First United Methodist Church of NLR and the Builders Sunday School class from the time he married Judy.

Frank is survived by his wife of 65 years Judy, his son Scott (and Kim) Dicus of Memphis, TN, and his son Craig (and Maggie) Dicus of Knoxville, TN. He also leaves behind three grandchildren, Joseph, Jackson, and Cooper Dicus of Knoxville, TN, plus several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation in Frank’s name to your favorite charity.

Visitation will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, August 8, 2025 with a memorial service following at 3:00 PM at Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home (1921 Main Street).

Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home, 1921 Main St., North Little Rock, AR 72114. 501-758-1170.