Seattle Mariners statement on the passing of partner Frank Shrontz

SEATTLE, Wash. – Frank Shrontz, who helped provide local, national, and international gravitas to the Mariners partnership group that helped save baseball in Seattle in 1992, has passed away.

A life-long resident of the Pacific Northwest, Shrontz devoted his life to his family, public service, and his community.

“Frank was a key member of the group of partners who came together in 1992 to save Major League Baseball in Seattle,” said Mariners Chairman and Managing Partner John Stanton. “He was widely admired and respected in Seattle for both his community work and his leadership of the Boeing Company, and his national and international reputation helped legitimize the new group in the eyes of Major League Baseball.

“Even before his formal role with the team, he supported the Mariners and provided valuable counsel to its leaders and in his 32 years as a partner he was always available and helpful with any challenge that came our way.

“All of our Mariners family will be keeping his children, David and Craig (Lynn) and grandchildren, Ellen and Reed -- in our thoughts.”

Frank was pre-deceased by his son Richard.

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Frank Anderson Shrontz was born in Boise, Idaho, on Dec. 14, 1931, and passed away Friday, May 3, at the age of 92, surrounded by his family. His wife Harriett, a member of the Mariners partnership group, passed away on Aug. 3, 2012.

Shrontz joined the group of partners working to save baseball in Seattle in 1992 while serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Boeing Company. He later served as a member of the Mariners Board of Directors.

Shrontz was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, graduating from Boise High School in 1949 and from the University of Idaho with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1954. He and Harriett, who met at the University of Idaho, wed in 1954 and were married for 58 years.

Shrontz was commissioned and served in the U.S. Army from 1954-1956.

Following his service, Shrontz received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1958. He joined the Boeing Company in 1958 following his time at Harvard. During his career at Boeing, he was a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1969-70. Frank left Boeing in 1973 to accept a high-level position with the Defense Department in Washington, DC, and in 1976 was named Assistant Secretary of the Air Force.

He rejoined Boeing in January 1977 as corporate vice president of Contract Planning and Administration. From September 1978 until May 1982, he was vice president and general manager of the 707/727/737 Division of Boeing Commercial Airplane Company and, in April 1984, became its president.

Shrontz was elected President of The Boeing Company in February 1985. He was elected Chief Executive Officer in April 1986 and became Chairman of the Board in January 1988. Shrontz became Chairman Emeritus on Feb. 1, 1997, following his retirement as Chairman of the Board.

Frank and Harriett were active, passionate and generous supporters of community organizations including the Seattle Art Museum, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Childhaven and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts.

Awards include being inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2004. Boeing endowed the Frank Shrontz Endowed Chair of Professional Ethics at Seattle University in 1997. And he was awarded the Oxford Cup, Beta Theta Pi’s most prestigious award, in 1999.