By Larry Tuke
Special to the Sports Paper
Have you ever heard someone talk about how painful their rotator cuff surgery felt?
Imagine having the same operation twice.
How about three times?
Frank Warner knows.
He also knows how it feels to have an orthopedic surgeon declare that you are “athletically finished!”
Warner has also had heart bypass surgery.
None of these medical challenges has stopped Warner from continuing to be a world class age group swimmer. At age 66, he still has been able to finish in the top 10, swimming in the National and International
Championships this year.
Warner swims in freestyle sprint events (50 to 150 meters) against the best in his age group, training with daily hour-long swims at the local Kitsap YMCA pool.
“You know, the medical stuff never defeated me,” Warner says proudly. “I wasn’t going to let it make me a couch potato. I talked to Dr. (Gregory}Duff and he devised a way to shave some hip bone from mine and stick enough of it up on my shoulder to keep me going!”
Warner, however, was jolted by one development. As he readied for the International Meet in Montreal this year, he looked down the blocks for his longtime rival—and could not locate him. They had competed in these events for years, and each relished the renewal of the race rivalry.
When Frank asked a fellow competitor, he was told his friend had just died of a heart attack. It was a huge challenge for Warner to digest that news and hop to the starting line, but he managed, somehow.
In retrospect, Frank now views that experience as a reason to live (and swim) his life’s passion to the fullest extent.
“You simply just never know, so why let the little things stop you?” Warner says.
Warner is already setting high goals for the next world event. These events often tag along the conclusion of the “Open” events featuring famous swimmers like Bremerton’s Nathan Adrian and Michael Phelps.
Frank and his talented wife Pam reside in Silverdale where they raised two successful (and athletic) daughters, Jenna and Mandy. He also owned and managed a successful CPA business, which recently merged (Gintz-Warner PLLC) to allow him more time to enjoy life.
Longtime local financial advisor Larry Tuke described Warner as a community minded CPA. For many years he performed free public seminars at high schools to help parents navigate the complicated business of college financial aid.
Warner also has been a favorite CPA for clients seeking an offensive rather than defensive accountant
Pam and Frank celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this autumn.