Who is Frank Gilbert?

As the last of nine children born to William and Wanda Gilbert in Lubbock County, Texas, Treat Frank Gilbert was born on August 9, 1950. He arrived in Arkansas in 1966. In 1968, he completed his high school education at Van Buren High School. Having a low draft lottery number, terrible grades and no money, he joined the U. S. Navy because the Vietnamese hadn’t sunk any ships. Frank met and married Teresa Lassiter of Memphis in 1971. They were honorably discharged from the Navy in 1972. A brief stint at Ouachita Baptist University ended when he worked for Guard Tronic, Inc. in Fort Smith. William Shannon, Sean Michael and Shane Franklin completed the Gilbert family and moved to Tull in 1989. Frank served as the head of Guard Tronic’s Little Rock office for several years before working for many years with the Bauxite School District.

Frank was elected

• Coroner of Grant County, one term
• Mayor of Tull, two terms
• Dekalb Township Constable, one term.

Teresa died of pancreatic cancer in 2016. Two years of darkness ended when Sharon Blankenship said “I do” in 2018. In January 2022, the Gilberts moved to the Pettaway Community east of Main Street in Little Rock and are living happily ever after. Frank has provided more than 8,000 rides for Lyft and Uber users since retiring.