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Frank Jamison

October 13, 2020
Kalamazoo, MI

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Jamison, Frank R. 3/25/1938 - 10/13/2020 Kalamazoo Frank R. Jamison, 82, of Kalamazoo, MI, unexpectedly departed his joyful life on October 13, 2020, in Escanaba, MI. Frank was born March 25, 1938, in Independence, Missouri, the only child of E. Verl Jamison and Pauline Mericle. Devoted husband and father, Frank is survived by his beloved wife of 30 years, Paula Wissing, daughter Diana C. Jones (Schaumburg, IL) and sons Thomas M. Jamison (Gladstone, MI) and Noel A. Jamison (Ford River, MI). Frank graduated from Southeast High School in Kansas City, MO, and went on to earn a bachelors degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He pursued what was to become a lifelong passion for television and other media when he completed an MS from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and a specialist degree from the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley. Frank began his career in at the Kansas City, MO, CBS affiliate station, KCMO-TV, but soon left commercial television for the educational and nonprofit spheres. He taught at the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley, where he cofounded and served as general station manager of the area's NPR radio station, KUNC-FM. He moved to Kalamazoo in 1967 to join the faculty at Western Michigan University, where he fulfilled numerous teaching and administrative roles until his retirement in 2001. Highlights of his tenure at WMU included establishing what at the time was the nation's most comprehensive university cable television system, EduCABLE, as well as creating several award-winning television series. His love for travel and sense of adventure led to a two-year stint as head of audiovisual services at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Near the end of his career at WMU, Frank began to focus on utilizing new, more portable video equipment. This led to an extended stay with the Tibetan community in south India, documenting the experiences of Tibetan exiles. One of the highpoints of his life was conducting a lengthy interview with H.H. the XIVth Dalai Lama. Back in the U.S. his services were in much demand as a presenter of talks he called "Tibet in Exile." Frank delighted in many hobbies and community roles. A stamp collector since childhood, he acted in community theatre and was an accomplished still photographer, poet and meditation instructor. When racquetball became a challenge he happily turned to pickle ball. An early supporter of public access television, he was instrumental in developing Kalamazoo's flourishing community access center, Public Media Network (PMN), where he served on the board, hosted numerous television programs and produced well-loved "visual essays" documenting trips around the globe. He admired the work of nonprofit organizations and served on the boards of several, from regional and national Scouting and cable television, to the New Vic Theatre, Cori Terry's Wellspring Dancers, Allegis (now Honor) Credit Union, and the Community Promise Federal Credit Union. After retirement he produced documentaries on subjects as diverse as the settlement of Vietnamese refugees in West Michigan, the history of the Ladies' Library Association, and low vision among a First Nation community in Canada's Northwest Territories. In 2016 Frank received the Irving S. Gilmore Lifetime Achievement STAR AWARD, a tribute that he regarded as one of the greatest honors of his life. A small private memorial is planned for spring of 2021. A televised tribute will be announced at a later date. Memorial donations may be sent to Public Media Network or Wellspring Cori Terry and Dancers, both of Kalamazoo. Anderson Funeral Home, Escanaba, MI andersonfunderalhomes.net