William "Bill" Colvin Frame

Bill Frame, 94, of Nampa, Idaho, passed away on February 12, 2023. He was born at home in Tucumcari, New Mexico, on January 29th, 1929, to his parents James and Drura Frame, joining big sister Amaryllis. Bill enjoyed a lifetime of adventures.

His early years were spent in New Mexico. He enjoyed playing football and made several lifelong friends, spending many hours together on Tucumcari Mountain.

He attended New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. He enlisted in the Navy in 1947, where he was trained as an electronics technician. He was stationed in places across the globe, including San Diego, Guam, and Virginia.

After he was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1952, he worked for many aerospace and electronics companies, including Lockheed Martin, Hughes Aircraft, General Dynamics, and Beckman Instruments on projects of varying secrecy.

He loved traveling and finding new adventures throughout his career. His journeys took him to Groton, CT; Fairbanks, AK; Virginia; Cape Canaveral; Vallejo, CA; Sunnyvale, CA; and many other places. In some of these locations, he was a civilian technician on the first series of nuclear class submarines.

He met his wife of 56 years, Darlene, and daughter René, when he was called from Florida to service equipment on a missile tracking ship that was docked in Portland, Oregon, in December 1965. He proposed on New Year's Day 1966 and they were married in Florida on March 22nd, 1966.

They headed west to be nearer their families, seeking work in Colorado Springs, CO, but moved to San Jose, where they welcomed their first son, Jim, on February 23, 1967, and second son, John, was born exactly one year later on February 23, 1968.

They moved to Portland, OR, Darlene's hometown, where they lived for a few years before Bill accepted a job as an elevator mechanic in Boise, Idaho in 1970. They moved to a 90-acre farm outside of Caldwell, where they grew alfalfa and grain. In 1980, René graduated from Middleton High School. She got married and moved to Nampa.

In 1983, they started their next adventure in the Atlanta, GA area, where Bill accepted another job with Lockheed Martin. He and a friend, Dave Alexander, started Raindance Irrigation Company, which became a very successful business. Jim got his GED and started college and John graduated from high school.

In the following years, Bill and Darlene moved to Arizona and Brookings, OR, where they built and sold two homes.

They lived briefly in McCall from 1998-2000, when they purchased a lot in Nampa and built their dream home with a beautiful shop that Bill treasured. He worked on countless projects in this shop.

When Darlene got her realty license in 2005, she and Bill started on their next big adventure: flipping houses and investing in rental properties. They renovated at least a dozen homes together before Darlene retired in 2020. He and Darlene loved to dance and travel the country in their RV.

Bill will be remembered for many things, including his stories, strength, wit, sense of humor, and intelligence. He brought a unique perspective to life and was extremely talented. His love of math and electronics was unparalleled. If you saw him in recent years, he always wore a hat and carried a calculator, pad of paper, and pencil in the pocket of one of his beloved Pendleton shirts.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, James and Drura Frame; his sister, Amaryllis Hewett; son, Jim Frame and nephew, Don Easterling. He is survived by his wife of 56 years Darlene (Browning) Frame, Nampa; daughter, René Robertson, Nampa; son, John Frame, Naselle, Washington; grandchildren, Jeremy, Brian, and Derrick Robertson, Bria and Theron Frame; niece Jo Slade, Pinetop, Arizona and nephew, Chuck Easterling, Albuquerque, New Mexico and their families.

A celebration of life will be held at 11am on March 23rd, 2023, at Still Water Hollow (18120 Dean Ln, Nampa, ID 83687).

In lieu of flowers, you may send a contribution to St. Jude's Children Hospital (www.stjude.org/donate) or to a charity of your choice.

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