Frank Daniel Chestnut, 1936-2026, Eastham, MA
(Formerly of Pullman, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri)
Frank Daniel Chestnut passed away on July 25, 2026, at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, MA. He is survived by his wife, Corabelle Chestnut of Eastham, MA; sons Brian Jeffrey Chestnut and Daniel Brent Chestnut; granddaughter Danielle Chestnut of Michigan; bonus son Adam Freuh and his fiancée Jaclyn Blauvelt of Orleans, MA; stepdaughter Diana Douglass of Clarkrange, TN; and grandchildren Jenna Creed of Webster, MA, and John Creed of Kodak, TN. He was preceded in death by his son Galen Kent Chestnut of Michigan in 2015, and his wife of 47 years, Deloris Kasinger Chestnut, in 2008.
Frank, called Dan by his friends, was born July 14, 1936, in Valhalla, New York. He was the only child of Frank Arnold Chestnut and Edith (Brown) Chestnut. His father was born in Pawtucket, R.I., in 1905, the son of Irish immigrants. His mother was born in Lakeview, Oregon, in 1910. She was the daughter of a US Forest Ranger and a teacher. She graduated from Oregon State College in 1934. His parents met while they were both at Grasslands Hospital in White Plains, New York. They married in Dover, Maryland, in August of 1935.
Dan spent much of his life traveling with his parents across the country following the seasonal crops. By the time he was 14, they had been to 45 states, Mexico, and Canada, had crossed the country from coast to coast 11 times, and he had attended over 20 grade schools.
His folks agreed that he needed to attend his high school years in one location. They moved to Attleboro, MA, in 1950, where Dan graduated from Attleboro High School in 1954. During his high school years, he went steady with Cora Pharmakis, who would become his wife in his sunset years.
MILITARY
Shortly after graduation, Dan enlisted in the US Navy; went through Basic Training in Bainbridge, Maryland, and then on to Aviation School in Norman, Oklahoma. He attended Naval Photographic School and Aerial Photographic School in Pensacola, Florida, and was assigned to NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island.
During his enlistment, he photographed the sinking of the Andrea Doria off the Mass. Coast, and traveled to Europe, Africa, and South America. He obtained the rank of PHA2 (Aerial Photographers Mate-Second Class). Dan was released from the Navy in July 1957 on his 21st birthday.
He went on to attend Oberlin College in Ohio in 1957-58, and was employed as an Aerial Mapping Specialist at the Coast and Geodetic Survey Dept. in Washington, D.C.
He attended Drury College in Springfield, MO, 1959-61, earning a BA in Philosophy (and a split-minor in Psychology and Religion). There he met Deloris (Kasinger), whom he married after graduation. Deloris spent 27 years as an elementary teacher and traveled the world with Dan. They had three sons, Daniel Brent, Brian Jeffery, and the late Galen Kent. They were married for 47 years. Deloris passed in May 2008.
POST MILITARY CAREER
Dan was employed by the McDonnell Douglas Aero-space Corp. (later part of Boeing Corp.) for 33 years. First as an aerial photographer; then in the position of a TV and motion picture cinematographer; and the final 10 years as a Senior Screen Writer and Production Director. He was based in St. Louis, MO for most of this time.
While employed at McDonnell Douglas, he worked on the Gemini, Apollo, Mars-Lander, NASA Space-Lab, Wild Weasel, SMS (a flying fire engine); Dragon, MAW and Harpoon projects; as well as the F-4, F-15, F/A18, AVBB, DCL0 and F-23 projects. Also, for a short period, he worked for General Dynamics in Fort Worth on the F-111 project.
He counts among the weirdest job he had was floating weightless in "zero-gravity" with a few of the Astronauts in training. (Next to that "diamond hunting" at dawn in the Arabian Desert.)
Among his most "exciting" opportunities was flying with the Blue Angels, the Thunderbirds and the Snow Birds (Canada's Flight Team) during several aerial demonstrations.
With the outbreak of the Gulf War (Desert Storm), he volunteered to be assigned to Saudi Arabia. He spent 6 1/2 years in the Kingdom training Saudi Air Force Officers in Communications. During those years, he and his wife traveled extensively; traveling "around the world" twice; and visiting more than 40 countries on 5 continents.
Dan retired in 1997 to Florida, and moved to Michigan with his wife Deloris. During retirement, he authored a 350-page book on the History and Genealogy of his wife's family. Deloris passed in 2008.
In 2013, he remarried his high school crush, Corabelle Pharmakis Douglass Chestnut of Eastham, MA. They first met on Feb. 20, 1952, when they were 15, and "went steady" through most of high school. Frank moved to Eastham in 2012.
An intellectual and a gentleman, Dan never met a stranger. He will be remembered for his kindness, patience, and love of a good conversation.