When paramedic/firefighter Frank Umbdenstock opened his mouth, it was usually to set up a corny joke.
“Didja hear about the kidnapping on the bridge?” went one of his favorites. “That little guy must have been really tired.”
His wife, Sharon, just shakes her head.
“People would come up to me and say, ‘I was having a lousy day and Frank told me a lousy joke and somehow that made it better.’”
Friends, family members and fellow first responders all have a favorite, each cornier than the next.
“Oh, it couldn’t be a regular joke,” said Jordan Acre, a lieutenant with the Mapaville Fire Protection District. “It had to be so bad it made you groan out loud.”
But Acre, like many others, knew another side of Mr. Umbdenstock.
“He mentored me through paramedic school,” Acre said. “He’d quiz me on whatever I was studying, and he’d ask me about what I’d do in a given situation.
“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am.”
Mr. Umbdenstock died July 19 after suffering a heart attack. He was a longtime paramedic with the Valle Ambulance District and volunteer firefighter with the Jefferson R-7 Fire Protection District.
Mr. Umbdenstock grew up in Danby and met his future wife at Charter Baptist Church.
“It was love at first sight for him,” Sharon said. “He apparently went home and told his mother, ‘I met the girl I’m going to marry.’
The two would go on to celebrate 40 years together.
“I knew, no matter what I ever wanted, he would do anything to see that I got it,” Sharon said. “He was so faithful. I told the kids, no matter what, he had my back.”
The two had daughter Jenny and son Eddie, then later adopted Sharon’s niece, Patty, as a teenager.
“She always called him Frankie,” Sharon said. “When we were dating, he used to give her a quarter not to tattle on us when we were making out.”
Mr. Umbdenstock worked briefly at a Coca-Cola bottling plant in St. Louis, at River Cement south of Festus and then the glass plant in Crystal City.
“When PPG closed, that was when he decided to go to EMT school,” Sharon said.
Mr. Umbdenstock worked at Valle for 27 years, the last 16 alongside Valle Chief Jesse Barton.
“I did my clinicals, my first responder ride-alongs, with him,” Barton said. “Frank and I were partners on the ambulance for almost five years. He was really good with people, explaining on the level they could understand what was going on and calming them.
“He was always working to learn new things, keep up with advances in technology and care knowledge. He was a great guy.”
Mr. Umbdenstock was supportive when breast cancer devastated his family, affecting Sharon in 2009 and daughter Jenny in 2011.
“It was so hard for him, but he was my rock,” Sharon said. “He never left my side. I had missed so much work, but when Jenny was diagnosed, I said, ‘I have to be there for her.’ And Frank told me, ‘You do what you need to do and we’ll make it work.”
Once both women were declared cancer-free, Mr. Umbdenstock could relax and enjoy camping with Eddie and his sons; going to his grandsons’ ball games; and helping out with the Jeffco Fire Engine Rally.
“He had so much fun with that,” Sharon said. “He worked hard, though, getting it set up and breaking it down. They had it down to a science.”
Mr. Umbdenstock was always on the lookout for someone wearing veteran insignia.
“It didn’t matter who we were with or where we were,” Sharon said. “He would shake their hand and say thanks. He taught his kids and grandkids that, too.”
A heart attack 10 years ago forced some changes.
“Frank found he was diabetic,” Sharon said. “So he started walking, biking. We changed our whole lifestyle.”
He had a triple bypass in spring 2016, followed by stents and another bypass surgery several months ago. He retired from Valle in late fall.
“He had been through so much and his body was just worn out,” Sharon said.
On July 15, Sharon was headed to visit her mother-in-law and shared a quick moment with her husband.
“We had the sweetest two-minute hug,” Sharon said. “He said he was going to stay in and watch some TV, and I left.”
Mr. Umbdenstock walked outside and spoke briefly to a neighbor.
“They walked to the edge of the yard together,” Sharon said. “But when the neighbor turned back to say something he saw Frank kind of wobble and go down.”
Despite all efforts, he never regained consciousness, and died four days later.
Sharon said her husband’s love for God was the most important thing in his life. “He didn’t push it on anybody, but he was bold in his faith and he was strong.”
His love for his family was strong, too, she said.
“He was a goofy guy, but Frank had a tender heart. If he had the chance to do something for somebody, he would.”
In typical Frank fashion, Mr. Umbdenstock turned his health struggles into something more positive.
“He hated his physical therapy – he called it pain and torture,” Sharon said. “I said, ‘Why not find the joy in it?’ He started playing pranks on the other guys there. He’d come home and tell me, ‘Ha! I got somebody good today!’
“He went from pain and torture to, ‘Oooh, I can’t wait till next week!’ And that was Frank. He always found joy.”
“Life Story,” posted Saturdays on Leader Publications’ website, focuses on one individual’s impact on his or her community.