It is with profound sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Frank Speck, age 72, on March 28, 2026 in Eureka. He was out doing something he loved when he left this world, riding his bike along the Bayfront Trail.

Born June 23, 1953 in Liverpool, England, Frank was known locally for his realistic paintings of classic cars. He excelled at capturing the chrome bumpers and reflective surfaces, and delighted in creating custom paintings for car enthusiasts. He exhibited his work at many places in Eureka, and he received a commendable award for his painting “Brooklyn Cadillac” at the Morris Graves Museum 2011 RAA Spring Exhibit.

He had a hilarious cryptic sarcastic sense of humor, which left some scratching their heads until hours later when “the penny dropped,” as he would say. He enjoyed watching someone’s face as they slowly figured out the joke and then burst out laughing. In his working days he was famous for his job site pranks, such as placing cutouts of rats in hanging light fixtures to scare the night guards, and buckets of yellow tinted water with attached rolls of toilet paper in the freight elevators.

He made friends all over the world and loved talking to complete strangers, starting up conversations anywhere, be it the grocery store, flea market or while out walking his dog, Bullet.

He had a deep empathy for those less fortunate, and was incredibly generous, always willing to help a friend or stranger with whatever they needed.

He was also a devoted Liverpool Football Club fan, and never missed a game even when it meant getting up at 2 a.m. to watch it. He refused to record it and watch it later as he didn’t want the excitement of the game ruined by someone revealing the outcome before he had seen it.

Frank was adopted at an early age by George and Elsie Speck. They moved from Liverpool to Bristol, where Frank spent a good portion of his youth and adult life. He had various odd jobs, but it was when he gained employment with Hayles and Howe that he found one of his true callings. While working for the ornamental plaster firm, he was introduced to scagliola, a 17th century Italian technique of imitating marble using plaster and pigments. The company was hired for a restoration project at the New Jersey state capitol in the early 1990s, and Frank came to the US for that project. He fell in love with New York City, and moved to the US the following year and was employed by Evergreene Architectural Arts as an ornamental plaster and scagliola expert. He met his ex-partner Lisa Jarrow, who was working as an art conservator for the same company, shortly thereafter, and they lived and worked together there until 2008.

Frank and Lisa moved to Eureka after departing NYC and bought an old Victorian house a year later. It was after moving to Eureka that Frank finally had the time and space to pursue his passion of painting. He was also finally able to realize his dream of having an Italian greyhound — he found a local breeder — and Bullet joined the family in 2010. Many happy hours were spent together walking in the forests and along the coastal beaches.

Early on, he also worked for a short time at the Blue Ox School, teaching plaster skills and renovating the theatre on the millwork grounds with the students. While working there he found his cat, who he named Vinnie Van Gogh because of her crumpled deformed ear. She was being picked on by the other resident cats and he feared for her safety over a long holiday weekend so he brought her home.

Frank had always hoped to find his birth parents, and before leaving NYC Frank was able to contact his birth mother, Norma Hemsworth, and shortly after that he was contacted by his late birth father’s wife, Norma Lucock. He traveled to the U.K. and met his half sister Linda Mundy, and half brothers Jeff Hemsworth, Chris Hemsworth, Geoff Lucock and Mark Lucock. On the way back home, he stopped and met his half brother Chris Lucock in Rhode Island. Finding and meeting them brought him great joy, and a sense of belonging. Unfortunately he was never able to meet his remaining half brother Steven Hemsworth.

Frank was preceded in death by his adoptive parents George and Elsie Speck, half sister Linda Mundy, birth mother Norma Hemsworth, birth father Frank Lucock, his beloved Italian greyhound Bullet and cat Vinnie.

He made a lasting impression on all who knew him and will be deeply missed.

A heartfelt thank you to all of Frank’s friends for your compassion during this time of grief, and to the anonymous individual(s) that found him on the trail and called 911.

Happy trails Frank, you will never walk alone.

There will be no funeral service. A celebration of life and exhibit/sale of Frank’s paintings will be held at a later date. Please email Lisa at frankspeckart@gmail.com if you would like to be notified of the event.