C.E. "Mike" Frost

C. E. "MIKE" FROST of North Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away on November 8, 2018, at his home. He went to join his beautiful bride, Eileen, who passed away 2 years ago, just 21 days short of their 65th wedding anniversary. He is survived by: his daughter, Terri Pesnell (Larkus); daughter, Mary Sweade (Greg); son, Edward Frost (Angela); daughter, Nancy Frost (Clayton Johnson); son, John "Jack" Frost (Candy); and sisters-in-law Bernadette Schick and Betty Diggins. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. He is pre-deceased by his wife, Eileen, and older sister, Delores O'Neil, of Chicago. Mike was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Paul and Alice Frost. He graduated from Leo High School and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Commerce from De Paul University in 1953. He worked his way through college playing saxophone in a local band. Mike met Eileen while singing in a young adult choir at church, and he proposed to her on Christmas Eve with a ring he purchased after selling his saxophone. Their five children were born in the Chicago area from 1952 to 1959. Eileen and Mike moved their family to North Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1967, and after a couple of multi-year excursions to Oklahoma, remained Arkansans for the rest of their lives. Mike was a hard-working man, who loved his wife and children, and provided for all their needs. Through most of his life, he was a leader in the financial industry, serving as a senior executive in several banking institutions. He left his job as the Comptroller of the National Bank of Detroit and moved to Arkansas in 1967 at the behest of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller to serve as the Director of the newly established State Administration Department. Until his resignation in 1969, as part of Rockefeller's "Inner Circle" (as depicted by political cartoonist George Fisher), he implemented many reforms to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the state's government. After retiring from the financial sector, Mike owned and operated the Cantrell Road Package Store until selling it in 2010. Mike enjoyed golf, traveling, and family gatherings full of laughter, music and wine. He passed away peacefully in the home he loved, with his family at hand. There will be a funeral mass at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas, at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, November 20. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Subiaco Abbey's Retreat House (https://www.countrymonks.org/memorial-gifts), or the Medical Mission Sisters (www.medicalmissionsisters.org). Online guestbook at www.SmithFamilyCares.com.