Stella, Frank D.

Frank D. Stella was born January 21, 1919 in Jessup Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Detroit in 1941. Soon thereafter he was drafted into service with the U.S. Army Air Force. He was honorably discharged in 1946 as a Major. His company the F.D. Stella Products Company was established that same year as a designer and distributor of food services and dining equipment. Through his work, the firm would prosper, eventually designing, building, and financing restaurants for individuals and chains throughout the United States.

Stella was a man with a strong faith, a desire to serve his community, both in Detroit and beyond, and a pride in his Italian heritage. With these convictions Stella was involved (usually in a leadership position) in scores of organizations, projects, and initiatives. His detailed vita categorizes these activities into four area, public service, political, education and health care institutions, business organization, and civic, fraternal, religious, veterans and social organizations.

Of great importance to Stella was his work as vice chairman and president (since its founding) of the National Italian American Foundation. The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational foundation that promotes Italian American culture and heritage. NIAF serves as a resource on the Italian American community and has educational and youth programs including scholarships, grants, heritage travel and mentoring.

An active member of the Republican Party, Stella was skilled as a fund raiser in the Michigan Republic Party where he was finance chairman and a member of the party's executive committee and nationally where beginning in 1981 he was elected chairman of the National Republican Heritage Groups Council (NRHGC) of the Republican National Committee. That organization had been formed to encourage the participation of Republican ethnic groups in the political process. In both his work with NIAF and the NRHGC, Stella developed close ties with five Republican presidents. Stella was frequently mentioned as a leading candidate to be US Ambassador to Italy.

His Roman Catholic faith was important to Stella and it manifested itself in his many charitable endeavors and his business dealings. One example of this was his work with Legatus, an organization established in 1987 by Tom Monaghan. Frank Stella was a founding director and first president of the organization. Legatus was established as an association offering spiritual and business support for Catholic business leaders and their spouses.

Throughout his life, Stella was willing to take on an incredible number of responsibilities in organizations relating to education, health care, and community betterment. A fuller listing is in his vita (included with the papers). Among these was service as a member of the board of trustees of the University of Detroit; as chairman of Detroit Orchestra Hall where Stella spearheaded the effort to restore and renovate this important Detroit cultural institution; as member of the board of the Detroit Educational Television Foundation, licensee for WTVS Channel 56, Detroit Public Television; as member of the executive committee of the Detroit Casino Gaming Study Commission; and as member of the board of Mt. Carmel Mercy Hospital.

Frank D. Stella died September 27, 2010.

From the guide to the Frank D. Stella papers, ca. 1940-2010, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)