William R. "Billy" Frizzell (1929-1978)
William R. "Billy" Frizzell (1929-1978) FMHS 1947
William R. "Billy" Frizzell (1929-1978) FMHS 1947
Abstract of:
Fort Myers News-Press
Fort Myers, Florida
November 23, 1978
By Barbara Johnson
News-Press Staff Writer
Prominent Southwest Florida architect William R. Frizzell of Fort
Myers and Pilot Earl Braden died Tuesday night in the third of four
plane crashes in three days near Daytona Beach.
Frizzell's twin-engine Cessna slipped from the radar screen at Daytona
Beach Regional Airport at 9:40pm nd dived from its last known altitude
of 1,600 feet into woods and hip deep swamps.
Rescuers on foot and carrying lanterns found the two men's bodies four
hours later, strapped into the torn and twisted plane in the jungle-
like Tomoka Wildlife Management Area.
Moments before the plane plunged to earth Braden had calmly radioed
the air control tower that he was four miles from the airport runway,
according to Jerry Smith, air control chief
Within the next 15 to 30 seconds, the plane disappeared from the air
traffic controllers' view and crashed 3 3/4 miles from the landing
strip, Smith said.
Radio transmissions between the cockpit and tower were routine and
gave no hint of distress, Smith said.
Observers at the scene said at least five investigators from the
National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation
Administration, as of late Wednesday afternoon, had no clues to the
causes of the crash.
Frizzell, 49 -- who left an indelible mark on Southwest Florida,
particularly Lee County, in his designs of many major office
buildings, schools, hospitals and residential developments --
departed slightly behind schedule after 8 p.m. from Page Field,
according to Bob Lee, flight service supervisor in Lee County.
At the controls was Braden, 56, a veteran pilot who his widow, Bernie,
said has been flying since 1946. Braden was president of Air Commuters
of Fort Myers, a firm that leases small aircraft and flies privately
owned executive planes.
Frizzell was en route to Daytona Beach Community College, for which he
had drawn plans for millions of dollars worth of campus buildings,
Leslie Kinkead, a secretary in Frizzell's Daytona Beach office, said.
Frizzell planned to meet with building contractors on the campus
theater and begin work on new science and vocational-technical
classrooms for the college.
The aircraft was Frizzell's own, bought recently in partnership with J.
Foster Pate -- president of Pate industries, a real estate and
development enterprise -- and Hart McIntyre -- president of Prather's
Laundry and Dry Cleaning.
The afternoon before the fateful flight, McIntyre had taken the Cessna
from Fort Myers to Sarasota and back. Mcintyre said the plane appeared
in "first-class shape" when he refueled and parked the aircraft in its
hangar. Braden apparently checked over the plane as well.
"The last I heard was Earl told him (an office helper) that Bill wants
him to take him to Daytona so I better check out the plane while its
still daylight," Mrs. Braden said. "I assumed the weather was good. He
always checks it before he leaves, especially with Bill."
Air traffic controllers know little about the flight of the Cessna No.
N86540. It was a poor night for flying because of a soupy fog that
restricted visibility to one to two miles and a low cloud ceiling 400
to 600 feet above the ground, Smith said.
"He (the Cessna) was coming straight towards the airport, and he just
never made it. He crashed 3 3/4 miles from the landing strip lined up
right with the concourse," Smith said.
Traveling at about 100 knots, Braden made the required report for
instrument landings four miles from the airport.
Smith said. "All the conversations with the pilot were normal. There
was no indication he was having any problems."
The bodies were discovered at 1:30 am. Wednesday because of the
difficulty in reaching the crash site on foot. Bulldozers at daylight
carved a path through the cypress swamp to allow emergency vehicles in
to remove the bodies 12 hours later.
Autopsies were planned for the victims late Wednesday, but Robert
Kropp, investigator for Volusia County medical examiner Arthur
Schwartz, said the cause of death will be listed as injuries sustained
in the crash. The autopsies will determine if there were any
contributing medical factors in the crash, such as a heart attack, he
said.
A memorial service for Frizzell is planned for Friday at 10am at the
First Presbyterian Church in Fort Myers.
Funeral for Braden will be Saturday at 11am at Leo W. Engelhardt
Funeral Home with a burial following at Memorial Gardens.
=======================================================================
Abstract of:
November 23, 1978
Fort Myers News-Press
Fort Myers, Florida
By BARBARA HARRIS
News-Press Business Editor
One can look in almost any corner of Lee County and see how architect
and developer William R. Frizzell influenced the county, although no
building, street or development bears his name.
"He wasn't the kind of person to name something after himself," said
George Bail, a partner in W.R. Frizzell Architects Inc. "He was
interested in accomplishments, not personal glory."
News of the tragic death Tuesday evening of Frizzell, 49, in an
airplane crash near Daytona Beach stunned the business community,
which held Frizzell in high esteem. Many lunchtime conversations
Wednesday centered on his life and his achievements, area businessmen
said.
His accomplishments were many. He designed the Lee County School
Board's administration and service complex, many of the schools in
Southwest Florida, the Fort Myers Public Library. Fort Myers City
Hall, Lee County Bank, the News-Press, several buildings at Edison
Community College, Sunset Condominiums (the first condominium complex
on Sanibel Island), First Federal Savings and Loan's new office
building downtown and dozens of other buildings and developments in
Southwest Florida, the state and around the country.
"He's left his mark all over the state of Florida and further because
of his contribution," said Hart McIntyre, of Prather's Laundry and Dry
Cleaning and a close friend of Frizzell.
"Bill Frizzell had more talent in his little finger than 10 men put
together," McIntyre added.
Frizzell, born in 1929 in Punta Gorda, was described by friends and
associates as an artist, a businessman, a compassionate person and a
visionary
He received degrees in engineering and architecture from the Georgia
Institute of Technology and did drafting and design work in Atlanta
and Tampa before returning to Fort Myers in 1955. That year, Frizzell
became a partner with Fort Myers architect Bolton McBride.
Ten years after, he struck out on his own. Competing with his former
partner, he nurtured his architectural design firm into a multi
million-dollar business with offices in Fort Myers, Winter Park and
Daytona Beach.
Under his direction, W.R. Frizzell Architects, with 40 engineers and
architects, became the largest Fort Myers-based firm in its field.
"The other architects in town only got the crumbs when Bill got
through with them," Ed Kreider of the Five County Builders and
Contractors Association said of Frizzell's ability to win contracts.
"You look around town, and he's the one who has designed almost
everything. Most of the biggest projects were his."
It was Frizzell, with "an unusual combination of talent as an artist
and businessman," who built the firm -- negotiating contracts,
overseeing design work and making necessary contacts.
"A lot of people are anti-development and growth," said his daughter
Leigh. "But whenever Dad did something, he did it right."
Foster Pate, president of Pate Industries and part owner with Frizzell
and McIntyre of the six-seat Cessna in which Frizzell was killed,
said, "Bill was truly a Christian per son -- in the sense of looking
out for the other man and the environment.
"He was always concerned about whether a development was compatible
with the environment in which it would be located."
Many business leaders attribute his success, not only to his talent
as an engineer, architect and businessman, but also to his personality
and his progressive thinking.
"I was saying at lunch today (Wednesday) that it wasn't only Bill's
design work, but his perceptions of the business world," said friend
and business partner Oscar Corbin Jr. "Bill was a forward thinker. He
always looked beyond the here and now and was able to see what was
going to happen in the future."
And Dan Adams commented, "He was a mild-mannered person, the kind who
put you ease when you had to discuss a difficult subject.
"He got involved with what you were doing and saying. He was a good
listener."
Frizzell's influence is felt in many other ways, his associates said.
"Bill was not only involved as an architect, but in many eases took
his fees in the form of a piece of the development," Adams said.
He was a prominent member of the Fort Myers Rotary Club, a former
Commodore of the Royal Palm Yacht Club, a director of First Federal
Savings and Loan Association of Fort Myers, as well as many other
businesses.
Frizzell -- survived by his wife, Margaret; his 23-year-old daughter
Leigh, and 19-year-old son Tyler -- spent the few hours that he wasn't
working, on his boat, Leigh Frizzell said.
Pagetender
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