Tewksbury Youth Sports Advocate
Francis J. “Frank” Ferrelli was born in Steubenville, Ohio on Oct. 09, 1943 and lived in Weirton, WV. He attended Weirton Catholic Schools of St. Paul’s and Madonna High School. Frank worked for Weirton Steel Company in the Tin Mill during the summers while attending college. Upon graduating from West Virginia University with a BSBA with a major in Industrial Management; he started his career with Radio Corporation of America in Meadowlands, PA as a Methods Engineer. Relocated to Lawrence, MA in 1967 to work for Honeywell Computer operations as a Production Engineer for 10 years and then to work for GTE Sylvania for 5 years before moving on to Northrop Grumman Corporation for 15 years.
Frank enjoyed his work as a Manufacturing Engineering Manager for Northrop Grumman and worked on various commercial and government programs. This career helped Frank strengthen his ability to utilize available resources to accomplish program objectives in a timely manner. Frank enjoyed manufacturing problem resolution to maintain the product flow to the customer.
Frank moved to Tewksbury in 1971 and was well known as a youth sports advocate. He volunteered to support his Town in various sports activities. He umpired girls youth softball, coached and served on the Tewksbury Youth Baseball Board of Directors, and spent over 35 years with Tewksbury Youth Football in various capacities on the field and with the Board of Directors as President for over 23 years. He was responsible for the design and construction of the Tewksbury Youth Football Fieldhouse on Livingston Street that bears his name. He was responsible in the improvement of the Ballou-DelRossi Football Field into being one of the best grass fields in the Commonwealth.
Frank loved his Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots. And always wanted to see his two favorite teams play a good game and had a difficult time when these two teams played. But he always leaned toward the Patriots to be the final victor as long as it was a close game.
Frank loved working in his yard and helping people. He especially enjoyed his dogs, a Bassett Hound, Charlie, a Pomeranian Poodle named Bonnie and his Cesky Terrier named Nick.
Survived by Sons Matthew and wife Shannon (Fraser), John and wife Christina (Dubbs), and Nicholas. He loved and admired his grandchildren: Vanessa, Evelyn, Ethan, Jackson, and Jacob. Watching them grow and develop skills from playing, to the sports fields to the backyard games was very enjoyable.
Frank passed away on Jan. 05, 2024 at the age of 80. Proceeded in death by his Father Gilbert L. “Bud” Ferrelli, Mother, Alice L. (Palcic) Ferrelli, and Brother, Gilbert J. “Bucky” Ferrelli.
Calling hours are Tuesday, January 16th, from 4-7 p.m. at the Farmer & Dee Funeral Home, 16 Lee Street, Tewksbury. A graveside service will be held Wednesday, January 17th at 11 a.m. at Tewksbury Cemetery, 172 East Street, Tewksbury. Those attending are asked to meet at the cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in Frank’s memory may be made to Tewksbury Youth Football at tewksburyyouthfootball.com