WOMEN’S BOWLING PIONEER FRAN DEKEN PASSES AWAY

Fran Wolf Deken, one of the most influential people in the history of women’s professional bowling, passed away last Thursday. She was 81.

Deken had been dealing with a number of ailments, including a recent fall that left her with severe back pain. Sources told BCM that it was her own decision to enter hospice.

Deken, a resident of Olathe, Kansas, was inducted into the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Fame in the Builder category in 1997 and the United States Bowling Congress Halls of Fame in the Meritorious Service category in 2006.

Over the course of her career in bowling, Deken held several high-profile positions.

She spent time as the group and tournament coordinator for the Showboat Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center in Las Vegas, scheduling the dozens of tournaments and hundreds of league sweepers that the 106-lane center hosted each season.

She also had a stint as director of operations for the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada, a job that involved far fewer — but much larger — events.

And for 20 years, she served on the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame Committee, helping make crucial decisions and formulate new policies as the American Bowling Congress and Women’s International Bowling Congress halls were melded into a single entity.

Deken’s lifelong love of the sport began at age 10 when she bowled for the first time at the Winnetka Community House in suburban Chicago. While she tried other after-school sports such as soccer, field hockey, volleyball, basketball and softball during her high school years at New Trier High School in Winnetka, it was her prowess in bowling that enabled her to move on to collegiate bowling at the University of Iowa, where she earned national titles in 1962 (doubles) and 1964 (singles, team and all-events).

Deken gave bowling in the professional ranks a try with modest success and then turned her attention to serving the sport in different ways. She became best known as an extraordinary advocate and tireless promoter for the sport — women’s bowling, in particular — and became known as one of the preeminent historians of the women’s game.

Following a stint on the PWBA Board of Directors from 1976 to 1981, Deken took on the role of PWBA Tour tournament director, serving on two separate occasions (1981-1991 and 2001-2003). It was in this role that she gained notoriety from her industry peers and respect from the women pros for her behind-the-scenes work and attention to detail.

“Fran could be friends with all the ladies but still enforce the rules,” said Virginia Norton, a fellow PWBA (2003) and WIBC/USBC Hall of Fame (1988) member. “She always was fair. And that also was true when we served together on the hall of fame committee; she never played favorites.”

In addition to her two decades on the USBC Hall of Fame Committee (including chairperson from 2012-2014), Deken served a stint on the PWBA Hall of Fame Committee, four years as a member of the BPAA Tournament Committee and decades on various National Women Bowling Writers, Bowling Writers Association of America and International Bowling Media Association committees, including as BWAA president in 2002.

Deken’s service at the local and state levels also was impressive. She was secretary for the Greater Reno WBA (now the Greater Reno Sparks USBC) from 2000-2002. She served on the Tulsa Area USBC Board for several years, including thec2017-18 season as president, and chaired several committees. On the state level, she was the association manager for the Oklahoma State USBC for several years beginning in 2017.

Deken also was a noted contributor when it came to coverage of the sport. At various times in her career, Deken wrote bowling columns, created a bowling report radio show and published a bowling newspaper.

Although a pro career on the lanes wasn’t in the cards, Deken remained an active competitor for as long as she could. In addition to multiple state and local titles, she logged 38 years at the USBC Women’s Championships (1972-2017) and found success as a senior by representing her country and bringing home gold medals in the 16th Maccabiah Games, the 10th Pan American Maccabiah Games and the Tournament of the Americas. Deken also owns titles in the Golden Ladies Super Seniors (2005 and 2008) and was named BWAA Senior Bowler of the Year in 2001.

Her storied career earned her numerous accolades, including the BWAA President’s Award (1998 and 2007), the Remo Picchietti Humanitarian of the Year (2010), President’s Choice Award (from the Oklahoma State USBC in 2012) and the IBMA Hennessey Award of Merit (2016).

Deken’s dedication and performances also earned her induction into the Southern Nevada USBC (1997, Superior Performance), Tulsa Area USBC (2014, Skill), Oklahoma State USBC (2014, Skill), Greater Kansas City USBC (2014, Superior Performance) and Kansas State USBC (2019, Performance/Service) Halls of Fame.

She is survived by her sons, Paul (June) Wolf and Charlie Wolf, and four grandsons (Sam, Dade, Hank and Max Wolf). The family requests no flowers, but donations in her honor may be made to the Inclusion Connections Belong KC Capital Campaign (ickc.org/donate) to build a supported living facility for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.