Frank J. Miranti Jr.
COLUMBIA — Francis "Frank" J. Miranti Jr. loved to garden.
“When the ground began to thaw, he’d try to figure out how to grow things,” his co-worker, Walter Bargen, said.
Mr. Miranti died Monday, Nov. 9, 2009. He was 49.
Marcie McGuire, who attended graduate school with Mr. Miranti, said he inherited a lemon tree that had been passed down through his family. He was the first to coax the tree to grow fruit.
She said he would grow plants not usually found in Columbia, such as figs and the lemon tree.
Mr. Miranti was born on May 3, 1960, to Francis J. Miranti Sr. and Mamie E. (Giordano) Miranti. He graduated from MU with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in creative writing and poetry.
McGuire, a senior editor at the MU Center for Distance and Independent Study, said they had either worked together, or in the same department, for about 27 years.
They worked at the Midlands, a book of student creative writing and poetry, during graduate school. One time, McGuire told Mr. Miranti she had lost her copy of the Midlands, and he brought her his copy to keep shortly after. She said he had a knack for remembering details about people, and he would bring people small souvenirs, such as old concert ticket stubs from a favorite band.
Carol Newton, a friend and co-worker of Mr. Miranti, said he would come to her house in Midway to help take care of her small grape vineyard. She said Mr. Miranti loved making wine from the grapes to share with his family during the holidays. She said he would often compare the vineyard to heaven.
Newton also said when she had trouble with her land, Mr. Miranti would drive over and open the trunk of his old Dodge and reveal a nursery of soil and gardening tools.
On the back of his Dodge was a bumper sticker that read "Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty." Newton said Mr. Miranti lived by that phrase.
Mr. Miranti is survived by his sisters, Mary Frances Reed, Rose, Nancy, Chris, Katherine and Carol Miranti; his niece Donna Reed; and nephew Patrick Reed.
His father, Francis J. Miranti Sr., and mother, Mamie E. (Giordano) Miranti, died earlier.
Services will be at 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, at Calvary Cemetery, 5239 W. Florissant Ave. in St. Louis.
Tributes can be posted at buchholzmortuary.com. Memorial contributions can be made to the charity of the donor's choice.
