Celebrating Black History
Frank Brown: A Leader and Trailblazer for Generations
Frank Brown is one of only four employees in the history of The Walsh Group to spend 50 years with the company (and one of only two without the surname Walsh). Returning to Chicago after his service in WWII, Frank joined Walsh Bros. Construction in the 1940s.
Frank Brown was a man dedicated to service and hard work, and to this day, his influence stretches across generations of The Walsh Group. Co-Chairmen Matt and Dan Walsh grew up learning by Frank’s example; Matt and Dan, as well as Frank’s daughter, Frankie Brown, reflected on Frank and his influence on the company.
A proven leader, Frank was the company’s only labor superintendent in his first years at Walsh, as Dan shares, “With Frank in charge, you only needed one superintendent.” He would also become the company’s first Regional Safety Manager, building the foundation of what would become Walsh’s Actively Caring culture.
Frank was proud and had a sense of responsibility that didn't allow him to let anybody down. Frankie added, “He was a self-determined man...driven by a strong sense of responsibility—to his family, the people that he worked for and with.”
(Photo: Frank Brown on site in Chicago, IL)
Frank Brown was a strong man with quiet power, a formidable presence, and an independent mind. His strength was not exhibited through bravado but through his uncompromising work ethic. He led by example; everyone on site knew Frank was in charge, and that his work would be of the highest quality. Frank listened to people, organized the best teams, and he would often help to create job opportunities within the black community.
When talking about the work Frank did for Walsh, Frankie recalls her father coming home with specks of concrete all over his head and arms. She recognized the pride he took in completing construction work each day and regarded seeing him covered both physically and emotionally in what he loved doing most, “it was in his blood…it fit exactly the type of person that he wanted to be.”
(Photos left to right: Frank and Ruth Brown with Margaret and Matthew Walsh; Frankie and Frank Brown; Frank and grandson Mason)
Dan considers Frank “one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, certainly one of the most practical people—he could be CEO of this company if only he had a formal education, that’s how smart Frank was.” Employees emulated Frank, learned from him, and they wanted to work on his team. Frank was known for his ability to fix anything, operate anything, plan anything, and be the ultimate team player.
Matt and Dan saw Frank as “one of the more influential people in the development of what defined The Walsh Group.” He offered great counsel to Matt and Dan as their careers progressed. Matt considers Frank, “one of the most important men in my life – a great mentor and friend.” Dan credits Frank for helping him develop his strong work ethic and understand the importance of teamwork, especially the notion that no one person builds these projects, it's a team composed of multiple, valuable skill sets.
Frank had an admirable career and built some of the company’s more impressive projects at the time, including the arcade walkway under the Auditorium Theater of Roosevelt University. It was on this job that Dan, then only a child, remembers watching Frank, dozens of feet below ground where no rig could be brought in, hand digging the ground alongside his team, sending up bucket after bucket of dirt. For 10-year-old Dan, that was the moment he realized how hard construction work was—and it was all part of a regular day’s work for Frank.
Dan shared that “it certainly has been a delight, in my life, to have known Frank Brown and to have been the recipient of what he had to offer in defining my own life, and my own career, in a very humble way. It has been a blessing. I wish he was here every day. I have pictures of Frank hanging in my office because I think of him regularly…probably daily.”
Frank loved looking back at old projects and knowing he influenced them, if only a bit. That pride he carried spilled over into Chicago, the city he loved, the city he had a stake in building. Finally, Dan says, “Walsh is today what it is because of Frank. People like Frank and their impact, it doesn't fade away. It lives on in other people.”
(Article authored by Lonald Howard, construction technology specialist at The Walsh Group)