Welcome to Franzino
& Scher

A Life Well Lived

Frank was born on March 2, 1945, to Frank John, Sr., and Lucie (Maresca) Franzino, in Coral Gables, Florida, at the Biltmore Hotel, which had been converted into an Army Air Forces Hospital during World War II. After the war, the family settled in Cresskill, and included two more sons, Robert and John.

Frank attended Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey. He graduated from Cornell University in 1967 with an A.B. degree and was awarded a J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1970.

Frank met his future wife Kathryn at a New Year's Eve party when she was a junior in high school and he was home on winter break during his freshman year of college; they went on their first date to the Bronx Zoo the following September, and married on December 23, 1967.

During their first couple of years of marriage, while Frank attended law school, they welcomed their daughter Elizabeth. The young family then moved to Tarrytown, New York, where they had twins Frank III and Joseph, and eventually settled in Cresskill.

Distinguished Legal Career

Early in his career, Frank was associated with Rogers & Wells and, subsequently, was a partner in several New York City-based firms. At the time of his death, Frank was senior partner at Franzino & Scher, LLC. He also served Of Counsel to the Hackensack, New Jersey law firm of Winne Banta Basralian & Kahn, P.C.

With more than 50 years of extensive litigation experience at both the trial and appellate levels, and with emphasis in commercial and corporate matters, he successfully represented his corporate and individual clients before the State and Federal Courts and participated extensively in arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, International Chamber of Commerce and the American Arbitration Association.

The depth of his expertise, and his success in disputes and litigated matters, led to his retention by both national and international law firms as counsel for their clients. His skills in negotiation, as well as advocacy, earned him a reputation for winning the "tough case."

Devoted Family Man

Frank somehow did all that while being fully present for his family. He served for many years on the Cresskill Board of Education—ultimately as Board President, coached his sons' Little League teams, and rarely missed a sports game, band concert, recital or family event.

An avid lifelong New York Yankees fan, Frank enjoyed watching most sports—professional, college, high school, kindergarten, it didn't matter. Frank liked to discuss a diverse range of topics, such as good cigars, fine wines, the Civil War, the college admissions process, the best places to buy nice suits or corduroys, the many operas he and Kathy enjoyed and travels they had taken, fishing lures, and Bruce Springsteen. In later years, golf and birding in Cape May County became additional passions, and he spent hours watching hummingbirds dive for food from the feeders dotting the garden.

Frank frequently adopted the interests of close friends and family as well, including One Direction and Harry Styles, the Greek classics, every college his family members set foot in, Hugo spritzes and espresso martinis, and the children's show Barney (which he was known to watch in the mornings before work even when his nieces or grandchildren were not around!).

When his many interests weren't capturing his attention, his active imagination would fill that gap and he would make up silly stories (and sometimes 'opera librettos') about family members and close friends.

If you had the fortune to meet the duo of Frank and Kathy, odds are that 15 minutes later, you would have told them your life history and discovered several people or places in common.

But what you would most likely hear about was anything to do with their six grandchildren. Frank was the proudest Grandpa (Poppy) ever.