Glen Gene Frati

Glen Gene Frati
June 23,1964 – January 14, 2021

Glen Frati, 56, died unexpectedly of a heart attack on January 14, 2021 at his home in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He was born to Hugo Frati and Mary (Frati) Knight on June 23, 1964, in Pittsfield, Maine, the youngest of five children.  

Glen attended local schools in Pittsfield, Maine until 5th grade when his family moved to California. Less than a year later, the family moved to Andover, MA where Glen graduated from Andover High School. 

Landscaping was Glen’s career. He worked at Konjoian’s Greenhouses and Landscaping,  Emanouil Brothers and, for several years, had his own landscaping company, all in Massachusetts. Meticulous and hardworking are words that described Glen’s dedication to his trade. His was the house on everyone’s street that had the most colorful gardens, neatest walkways, and best bricked terraces. Glen was a jack of all trades who would buy a house in need of repair, transform it into a handsome home, sell it, and purchase another house in need of his attentions. His drive was less to make a profit and more the satisfaction of a job well done. 

Glen was a mix of many small distinctions. He excelled at making Italian meatballs, telling onlookers that each ball needed 20 turns in one’s hand to adequately seal the seams before cooking. At the same time, not being a food snob, he bought three Big Macs on a recent food run with his son Tyler, with the intent of finding out how they’d fare in the freezer. 

Glen liked scary stuff. He collected creepy Stephen King books and classic horror movies like Dawn of the Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. For some reason, he chose to house them at the family camp - isolated, in the woods, no cable tv, sketchy cell service - an excellent setting on dark evenings to ratchet up paranoia for things that go bump in the night. We, his family, wish to thank him posthumously for this.

Glen was a talented but secret writer, often spending time composing short stories and poems but rarely sharing them or keeping them. Sadly, only one poem was found among his possessions. His family hopes that he is published under a pseudonym and is incredibly famous.

The three special people in Glen’s life were his twins, Zoe and Tyler, and Tyler’s girlfriend,  Serena. Each summer “Pops” and the three spent a week at the family camp that included tubing the Saco River, playing board games, watching movies, swimming, and sitting around the campfire. There was nothing that made Glen happier and more relaxed than being with the people he loved the most, at the place he loved the most. 

Glen was a good neighbor. After his passing, a note was found on his front door from a neighbor with words describing his generous acts. “(Glen) spent hours with us removing a long rooted, dead bush in our yard, bringing over a stump grinder, chains and even using his truck to pull it out. That Thanksgiving, he informed us that he was going to do some work in our yard. Out of nowhere, and asked for nothing in return (he never did), we got back late that night to find a large hydrangea, black eyed Susans, and many other plants surrounded by mulch where the bush used to be. In the spring, up popped the most beautiful peonies. He made it so that in each season there would be beauty. How do you repay something like that? How do you repay someone like that?”

Glen was funny and brave. He was able to find humor in life’s challenges. After removal of a molar, he referred to his dentist as Dr. Yank. For years, family members suggested he get a dog, an idea he adamantly opposed. When his vision began to significantly fail, he drily joked that he “saw a dog in his future.” For years, the family gathered to celebrate the holidays with a potluck supper and Yankee Swap. All gifts were anonymous but when a real stuffed squirrel, a crocodile skeleton, and a deer hoof hollowed out to hold whiskey were unwrapped, all eyes turned to Glen.  
 
Glen is survived by his children, Zoe Frati, and Tyler Frati and Tyler’s partner Serena Torres, all of Massachusetts; his former wife and mother of his children, Molly Frati of New Hampshire; his second wife, Lara Pim Frati of Massachusetts; his mother, Mary Knight of Florida; his sister Gail Greenblatt and her husband, Robert of Maine; his brothers Douglas Frati and his wife, Erin of Maine; Kent Frati and his wife, Glenda of Maine; and Alan Frati and his wife, Claudia of New Hampshire and several nieces and nephews. Glen is predeceased by his father, Hugo Frati, and stepmother, Darlene Frati; and stepfather, Richard Knight.

Due to Covid concerns, a celebration of Glen’s life with immediate family will be postponed to a future time. In Glen’s memory, please find time to be kind, funny, hardworking, and sometimes, a little bit scary. He would like that.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Glen Gene Frati, please visit our floral store.