Obituary of Noreen A. Frank

Noreen A. Frank, 72, of Howell passed away at home on Wednesday, September 3, 2025. She was born in Jersey City, raised in Leonardo and had lived in North Carolina, Texas, Germany and Georgia. She and Gordon married on Valentine’s Day 1986 in Georgia, and soon moved to Lakewood for 15 years, where Julienne was born in 1990, before settling in Howell in 2001.

She worked as an administrative assistant for the Department of Defense before retiring in 1999 to become a stay-at-home mom. Noreen’s most treasured role was as a mother and she excelled at many crafts - sewing and making costumes, designing props, you name it… she mastered it.

She was a true dance mom, managing the schedule, costumes and travel while fostering Julienne’s passion. Noreen enjoyed cooking for those she loved and had accumulated over 500 cookbooks in her collection. She made fudge for everyone during the holidays, and loved the Christmas season, but her absolute favorite holiday was Halloween. Decorating for Halloween was her Super Bowl, and even included a candy-chute to get around Covid protocols so she could still entertain the kids of the neighborhood.

She is predeceased by her parents, Felix and Virginia Subowicz, and sister Cecilia Gracin. Noreen is survived at home by her loving husband of 39 years, Gordon Frank; daughter, Julienne Frank (Jeffrey Roth) of Howell; nieces, Tara Lawrence (Ian Drinkwater) of Leonardo and Nicole Gracin (Nick Perri) of Vernon, and her great nephew, Ryan Drinkwater of Leonardo; and great niece, Kennedy Perri of Vernon. She is also survived by a special cousin Dolores (Ed) Dragan of Lambertville, and several loving friends.

The family would like to extend special thanks to the hospice staff of the VNA for their kind care of Noreen during the past few weeks.

A memorial gathering will be held at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, 100 Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524), Freehold Township on Saturday, September 13, 2025 from 12:00 to 3:30 PM with her memorial service to follow at 3:30 PM. Inurnment will be at the convenience of the family in Brigadier General Wm. C. Doyle NJ Veterans Cemetery, 350 Province Line Road, Arneytown. For those who desire, donations in memory of Noreen may be made to Tunnel to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10306, The Lustgarten Foundation, 504 RXR, Uniondale, NY 11556 or a charity of your choice. For information, directions or to leave condolence messages for the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com