Frank Whiteman Lindsay, of Newton, died on Sunday, June 3, after a brief illness. He was 97. Mr. Lindsay was born in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia, the only child of Mary and Robert Lindsay. Mr. Lindsay married Katherine Hamilton of Chicago in 1942, at the Riverside Church in New York City. The couple had three daughters: Janet, born in 1944, and twins Karen and Frances, born in 1949.
A precocious child, Mr. Lindsay was home-schooled by his mother until the age of eight, when he was ready for the fifth grade. His parents enrolled him in St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Philadelphia, and he rode the train there each day. Mr. Lindsay attended Haverford College, graduating with honors in 1930. He went on to earn both an M.A. (1932) and a Ph.D. (1945) in French from Columbia University. Mr. Lindsay’s career as a professor of French spanned nearly forty years, beginning with an instructorship at Haverford, his alma mater, in 1936. During the war years, Mr. Lindsay, having been designated 4F due to poor eyesight and a bad back, taught French, Latin, and Spanish at Blair Academy in New Jersey, the Brooklyn Friends’ School in New York, and the New York State Maritime College. In 1947 he was hired as an instructor of French at Princeton University. Three years later he accepted a position as an associate professor of French at Russell Sage College in Troy, New York. Later, as a full professor, Mr. Lindsay was appointed Chairman of the Department of Modern Languages. He retired from Russell Sage in 1975.
Mr. Lindsay and his wife, a violinist, raised their children in Schenectady, New York, where they were prominent in the musical life of the community. They sang in the Schenectady Choral Society, and Mr. Lindsay, who had studied voice while living in New York, was frequently asked to perform as a soloist. Mr. Lindsay also sang and acted in various local theatre productions. He had a special knack for Gilbert and Sullivan “patter songs.” During his tenure at Russell Sage, Mr. Lindsay also served as the bass baritone soloist at the First Presbyterian Church, also in Troy.
Devoted as he was to both his teaching career and his avocation as a musician, Mr. Lindsay always put his family first. He took a keen interest in the education of his three daughters and, with his wife, encouraged their musical talents. All three of his daughters took up musical instruments as small children and became lifelong musicians. A grand piano dominated the family’s living room, and jam sessions were a frequent source of entertainment and fun.
In his retirement, Mr. Lindsay was hired as an announcer at radio station WMHT (an affiliate of Public Radio International) in Schenectady. His vast knowledge of the world’s music, from the baroque through the classical, romantic, modern, and contemporary periods, combined with his knowledge of seven languages, made him a natural for the job. Years later, Mr. Lindsay dubbed and narrated a set of audiotapes of Christmas music from around the world. He labeled these tapes “Christmas for Posterity” and gave a set to each of his grandchildren.
In addition to his work at WMHT, Mr. Lindsay recorded countless books on tape for the Albany (NY) Association for the Blind and for the Temple Gates of Heaven synagogue in Schenectady.
Mr. Lindsay was preceded in death by his wife Katherine in 1996. He leaves his three daughters: Janet, of Boulder, Colorado, a cellist and social worker; Frannie, of Cambridge, a published poet and classical pianist; and Karen, of Newton, a writer and choral singer. Mr. Lindsay also leaves four grandchildren: Rosemary and James Palmer, Jill Whistler, and Brent Hire.
Interment will be at Newton Cemetery. Services will be private.