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Frank "the beard" Lozar Passes


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I was 17 years old when I attended my first rehearsal of MBI waaaay back in the '70's. It was held at the Ballantine VFW on Lyndale Av in south Minneapolis. I was playing 3rd soprano that night, trying to figure out why the fingerings on my g bugle sounded so different from my trumpet :).

I remember looking down the line and thinking "who the hell is that??" There he was, with a glorious black beard, black pants and black shirt. Frank scared the crap out of me at first as did a lot of the guys in the line. They all looked tough to a high school kid. I eventually learned they were all pretty much teddy bears, especially Frank. Over the years I got to know him well. I even marched a "3-man-squad" with him in those early years.

Frank was one of a kind. Gentle, generous and knowledgable. He always had a beer in hand and a song in his heart. There were many post-show very late nights when I just hung out with him, Dick Maki and Larry Wogenson in a hotel room, drinking and listening to stories from the 1950's and 60's. He knew them all. And he made those stories poetic masterpieces.

Minnesota Brass Inc. had a few years in the '80's when their financial status was shaky at best. Frank, along with several other longtime members came through and helped the corps through those rough patches. As current Director Eric Molho said elsewhere the corps might not be here today had it not been for him.

Many people don't realize that Frank was a chemist at the University of Minnesota. He created the formula for the skin & hair dye he used on himself. He never sold it and kept it as his own trade secret. Whatever it was it was a marvelous effect. His beard was a work of art.

Frank marched his last show with MBI when I was Corps Director in 2003. To this day one of my most personal proud - and most humbling - moments was when he thanked me for establishing a 64-member hornline for Minnesota Brass. He had never before marched with a line that large in his entire career. And I'll tell you a secret. It was his longtime desire to be in a large horn line that helped drive me to change how the corps handled new members in order to minimize turnover and retain members. Frank's passion became my passion.

Thanks Frank. You helped shape me into who I am. And I will never forget your smile behind that thick beard. You established the corps' song because no one could stop you from singing it endlessly on those long cross-country bus trips, as much as we tried :)

Sure, "For all we know, we may never meet again..."

But ###### Frank, you know that's not true... :) When we do meet again I hope we can raise a toast with a tasty blue label beer. Cheers to the wacky, dysfunctional family that is drum corps!

Edited by Ron H
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