Werner Frank

Werner George Frank died on the evening of Tuesday, January 14, 2020 in Madison. Werner was born in Morris, IL in 1929, the son of August George and Elisabeth Hedwig Wagner Frank.

Werner graduated from Morris High School in 1947 and was employed at a local camera store where he began a lifelong interest in photography. He attended Deep Springs College, Bishop, CA for a year before transferring to the University of Chicago where received the B.A. degree with honors in liberal arts, and then went on for his M.B.A. in 1952. He held academic scholarships for all the years he studied there. While there, he was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma honorary business fraternity, Beta Alpha Psi honorary accounting fraternity, and Phi Beta Kappa honorary liberal arts fraternity.

He served two years as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army Audit Agency, worked at Inland Steel Container Co., and then entered the doctoral program in cost accounting at the University of Illinois-Urbana. He received his doctorate there in 1958 when he also earned his CPA professional certification.

He was an assistant and associate professor at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, where he directed the computer center. He then came to the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business where he taught for over 30 years. While there, he was the major professor for 19 doctoral dissertators, a member of 41 doctoral committees in business, and an author of two textbooks. He served on the editorial boards of the Accounting Review and the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy. He ended his career as the Robert Beyer Professor of Managerial Accounting and Control. His professional memberships included the American Accounting Association, Decision Sciences Institute, and the National Accounting Association. He did consulting work for four textbook publishers and several professional organizations. He enjoyed woodworking, toymaking for his grandchildren, the visual arts, music, travelling, and camping. He was on the Board of Directors for Opera Props a number of years ago.

His survivors include his wife Jean, and three children—Susan Frank, Middleton, WI; Diana Frank Johnson (Mark Stuart), Geneseo, IL; Margaret Frank, Katy, TX; as well as four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, and a brother-in-law.

A memorial service will be held at CRESS FUNERAL AND CREMATION SERVICE on Friday, January 31, 2020 at 3pm. Visitation will be held from 1pm until time of service. Burial will be for family only later in the summer. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Nature Conservancy.