WWII vet outlived his comrades to age 101. Relatives worry his funeral will be lonely.

A 101-year-old World War II veteran died Saturday, and his great-nephew has put out a call to fellow veterans to help give him “the funeral he deserves.”

Theodore M. “Ted” Frango was in the Air Force and served in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II, according to his obituary. In the years after the war, Frango owned a service station in Knott County and then moved to Lexington, where he worked as a commissioned manager at Standard Oil on New Circle Road, an insurance agent and owner of a Western Auto store.

Over the years, Frango was an active member of the Lions Club and the Spring Valley Golf Club, his great-nephew Chris Russo said. But Frango outlived many of his relatives and the people he served with and golfed with.

Other than four or five immediate relatives, Russo said, he didn’t know whether anyone else would be able to be at Frango’s funeral Thursday.

“I didn’t want him to not get the funeral he deserved,” Russo said Wednesday. “He would always tell me stories about when he served, and I wanted him to have a proper send-off.”

Russo lives in Colorado Springs and is unable to attend, so he called on a community he knew he could count on to pitch in.

Russo, who served in the Air Force, contacted several veterans groups on Facebook, asking anyone who is able to attend Frango’s funeral services. Posts about Frango’s funeral have been shared dozens of times, and Russo is confident that some veterans will be there Thursday.

The thought of having veterans at Frango’s funeral is “priceless,” he said.

“Honestly, he was just a hardworking, good honest man of an immigrant family who made their way, and he made his way,” Russo said. “He was just awesome.”

Visitation for Frango will be 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home at 463 East Main Street, according to the obituary. Funeral services will begin at 2 p.m., and burial services will immediately follow at Lexington Cemetery.

This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 8:12 PM with the headline "WWII vet outlived his comrades to age 101. Relatives worry his funeral will be lonely.."