Frank P. Wuenschell

Frank Wuenschell was born in October of 1924, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the eldest of four children. He became "the man of the house" at age 8 when his father, a steelworker, died of complications arising from the foul air of the steel mills of the time. The family grew up in a small apartment where his mother gave piano lessons, and which was located above a Black Blues Bar. This combination undoubtedly influenced his transformation into a master of the BoogieWoogie piano. Though he never learned to read any music, he had an uncanny ability to listen to a piece of music a few times and then be able to play it "by ear". He met several of the great musicians of that style, including the great Meade Lux Lewis. He even got some initial offers to play with some bands, but could not because he could not read music, and all of his transcriptions ended up in the key of F sharp (not a popular key, and he tended to wear out the black keys on the piano).

When the war (WWII) came along, he volunteered, and eventually became part of the 167th Engineer Combat Batallion. Ironically, he was assigned to "Company B", the same as a Boogie Woogie Bugle player famed in song. He was proud of his service to our country under "His General" , George Patton. He had many close calls, the last of which was being involved in an explosion while his company was clearing a mine field. He lost his buddy in that explosion and, it was later found, that the explosion had actually cracked his skull near the left ear. He needed extensive surgery to repair the damage, but permanently lost all hearing in that ear. He was denied a Purple Heart, because the incident did not take place under enemy fire.

After the war he married Mary Helen in 1947 and in 1950 moved into a house in Long Beach, California. There they had two sons, Thomas, born in 1952 and Gerald, born in 1955. He joined the United States Postal Service as a Mail Carrier and served in that capacity for 30 years. He was a good Father and taught his sons many of the essential and practical lessons of life. He and Mary were blessed by a Granddaughter, Elizabeth (Tom's daughter) and two Grandsons; Arthur and Alexander (Gerald's sons). After a little over 50 years of marriage, Mary Helen passed away on January 2nd, 1998. He continued to live in the house he bought in 1950 for many more years. Elizabeth, provided him with a Great-Grandson, Madden.

Eventually, he began to succumb to Alzheimer's and moved into assisted living, where he was much loved for his continuing skill on the piano, a skill he retained until shortly before his death on April 30th, 2015 of complications arising from late-stage Alzheimers.
He is survived by his sons, Tom and Gerry; his grandchildren; Elizabeth, Arthur, and Alex; and his great-grandchild, Madden.

"Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright" -- Billy Joel

Fare thee well Piano Man.