Franklin "Frank" Mann

Frank Mann, 66, was found in his car at 8:40 a.m. at the AM/PM on 12th Avenue and Highway 198. Chief Deputy Coroner Shawn McRae said it was confirmed that Mann died from a heart attack. He was survived by his 29-year-old daughter Jofrae Jessee. “He was incredibly intelligent and always very funny,” Jessee said. “He liked to make jokes about himself a lot.” Mann worked as a teacher throughout his adult life, including as an English and drama teacher at Hanford High School. He retired in 1999 after working there for 22 years. “He was always active and interested in the school, even after he retired,” said Hanford Joint Union High School District Superintendent Bill Fishbough. “Frank was very passionate about education and the kids.” While working as a drama teacher at Eureka High School in the early ’70s, Mann met his future best friend, Larry Whatcott. In 1970, Whatcott was just entering high school and Mann had just been hired at the school, the youngest and newest teacher at the time. “He had an enormous impact on my life,” Whatcott said. “He was an inspirational and motivational drama teacher. He could always rally the troops.” Whatcott said Mann had a different approach to teaching drama than was common at the time, as he focused on teaching the students about the facets of drama, such as lighting, set design and costumes, as well as the history of drama rather than focus strictly on acting. “He was there to teach us the entire realm of theatre,” he said. “We got a very well-rounded education.” After working together on plays throughout Whatcott’s high school years, they continued staying in touch, maintaining a strong friendship over 44 years. Whatcott said it was primarily their shared passion for writing, movies and theatre that brought and kept them together. “He was a strong advocate of playwriting,” Whatcott said. “He knew I had a knack for it. He had a gift of bringing out the best in students by finding their potential and developing it.” Whatcott said Mann’s encouragement led him to pursue writing and directing as a career. Currently, he lives in Southern California with his family and has produced a short film and wrote several scripts that have won screenwriting awards. “If I never stepped in Frank’s classroom, I would never be a writer and director in Hollywood today,” he said. “I owe it all to Frank.” At the time of Mann’s death, the longtime friends were working on a docudrama about unsafe driving called “Wheelz: The Young and the Reckless,” based partly on his experiences teaching at the Santa Fe Driving and Traffic School for nine years. Mann was directing the film while Whatcott was asked to co-write the script with him. “I wanted to help out an old friend,” he said. “He’s done so much for me over the years. I always loved working with Frank.” The film features recreations of some of the tragic automobile-related deaths that Mann was involved in during his life, with the goal of showing it to local teens to encourage them to make good driving choices. “He always had a dream of making a movie,” Jessee said. “I told him that I was very proud of him and that this was a great thing for him to do. He was finally pursuing his dream.” The movie began filming in Hanford and Avenal this spring, with several key sequences being shot before Mann’s death. Whatcott said it’s still unknown if or when shooting will resume. Regardless of what happens with the film, Whatcott said Mann has impacted a lot of people during his life and has left behind a strong legacy. “I’m pretty much devastated,” he said. “When you lose your best friend, it’s very hard to deal with. However, it’s always a joy to get to talk about your best friend.”

Franklin "Frank" Mann

August 14, 1947 - July 23, 2014