OBIT: Franklin R. LONG, 2007, Sinking Valley, Blair County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Sharon Miller Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/blair/ _________________________________________ FRANKLIN R. LONG Franklin R. Long, age 75, of R.R. 1, Sinking Valley, Tyrone, died Sunday, April 15, 2007 at his residence. He was born October 10, 1931 in Altoona, the son of Franklin R. and Ruby Allan Hileman and on November 2, 1956 at the First English Lutheran Church in Tyrone was married to Sarah Jane Zimmers who survives. Also surviving are eight children, Gregory (Crystal), Jeffrey (Vikki), Linda Jones and Gary (Jennifer) all of Sinking Valley, Gretchen (Paul) Winklosky of Derry, PA; Jerry (Pamela) of Sinking Valley, Brian and fiancee Jan Musgrove of Kenilworth, England and Terry (Heather) of Sinking Valley. Also surviving are 20 grandchildren. He was a member of the First English Lutheran Church of Tyrone. He was a graduate of Tyrone High School Class of 1950 and had attended Penn State University majoring in Agriculture Engineering. He was a lifelong self-employed Sinking Valley dairy farmer and, with his wife, raised their eight children on a prosperous dairy operation. Mr. Long was Chairman of the Blair County Conservation District where he had served as chairman for 13 years and Farm Director for 26 years. He served on the Chesapeake Bay-Farmland Preservation Committee and Glenwhite Kittanning and Shaw Run Watershed restoration. He was a Blair County appointee to the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts for 18 years serving as PACD Public Relations Chairman for 11 years and as PACD President from 1999-2001. He was a Blair District appointee and charter member of the Southern Alleghenies Resource, Conservation and Development (R C&D) for ten years. He was a charter member and Chairman of the Southern Alleghenies Conservancy for five counties for 12 years. He was a Blair County Farm Bureau Director and President for six years. In this capacity he served as Ag Commodities Cabinet Director, Chairman of the State House Committee for Governmental Relations, a member of the Public Education Program and the Environmental Coordinator. He had been appointed by the Blair County Commissioners as a charter member of the Blair County Park and Recreation Board and was currently serving as its chairman. He was a member of the Sinking Valley Grange No. 484, had served as a teacher at Tyrone High School for FFA and as a Blair County 4-H leader. He had served for seven years as Director of the Blair County Chapter of the American Red Cross and was a member of the Disaster Team for eight years. In 1995 he was appointed to Senator Rick Santorum's Agriculture Advisory Board; in 2000 he was appointed by Governor Tom Ridge to three committees on the Agricultural Advisory Board, the PA Land Use Committee and the Growing Better Committee (Growing Greener Grants). In 2002 he was appointed to Senator Robert Jubelirer and Congressman Bill Shuster's Ag Committee. Mr. Long served for 27 years as Director of the Sinking Valley Fair and as the President for 19 years. He served on the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs, was elected to the state executive committee where he served for 16 years representing Southwestern PA Fairs. He was on the PA State Fair Queen Board of Directors and was appointed PSACF representative to PA State Council of Farm Organizations, The PA State Farm Show Committee, the PA Travel Council, and the PSU Ag Council. He served as President of PSACF from 1997-1998. He was involved in roundtable discussions and seminars involving International Agriculture Promotion for 14 years. In 2001, Mr. Long was named "Fair Person of the Year" for the State of Pennsylvania. Funeral Service for Franklin R. Long will be Wednesday, April 18, 2007 at 11 a.m. at the First English Lutheran Church with Pastor Susan Yatta officiating. Interment will follow in St. John's Lutheran Cemetery, Sinking Valley. Friends may call at the Richard H. Searer Funeral Home Inc. on Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. and at the church from 9:30 a.m. until the service at 11 a.m. Tyrone Daily Herald, April 16, 2007