Single father, beloved son and brother, free spirit, loving friend to many

Louis Frankel died tragically in a car accident on September 29, 2023, in Santa Teresa Puntarenas, Costa Rica. He was 46 years old.

Louis was born on New Year’s Eve 1976 to Pat Casey Frankel and Paul Frankel, in Oakland, California. He grew up in Claremont as the youngest member of the “Seventh Street seven,” with Pat, his stepfather Dick Barnes, sisters Ellen and Sarah, and brothers Paul and Richard. He attended the Claremont United Church of Christ Preschool, Sycamore Elementary, El Roble Intermediate School, and Claremont High School.

“Louie was born a social butterfly, and this quality would endear him to his family and the many friends, throughout his life,” his family shared. “When only four years old, his vibrant social nature was on full display: he was attending a Pomona College football game with his stepfather Dick Barnes when, all of the sudden, ‘Where’s Louis?’ A frantic search ensued, only to find young Louis down on the football field hamming it up with the football players and talking to the coach.

“Louis’ passions tell of someone who lived life to the fullest. He loved snowboarding, surfing, camping, being in nature, traveling the world, and music. He played drums and was deeply moved by music, so much so that going to concerts with friends at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado was like a pilgrimage for him; while a resident of Denver, he went as often as he could since music and friends gave him such joy.”

He studied Computer Science at DeVry Institute, where his inquisitive mind led him to a career in internet security. In the early 2000s he founded his company, “Night Sync.” But his greatest challenge and source of pride was being a single dad. Becoming a father required him to seek more stable employment. He worked in IT support for various tech companies, spending several years at Amazon Web Services, and most recently as a cloud solution architect for NetApp.

His talents in the tech industry provided the ideal circumstances to work remotely from anywhere in the world. Following his dream to live in nature, he moved to Costa Rica with his daughter, where he thrived as part of the expatriate community. Friends in Costa Rica shared that he was like a big brother to many, and that he was well loved. There, he found not only friends who became like family, but enjoyed both his passion for being in nature and playing music. He raised his daughter, surfed, played drums, lived in the natural beauty of Costa Rica, and befriended people from around the world.

He was preceded in death by his father, Paul Frankel; grandmother, Florence Casey; and stepfather, Dick Barnes.

He is survived by his mother Pat Darby and stepfather David Darby; daughter Chloe a.k.a. Simon; grandfather William Casey; brothers Paul Frankel, Richard Barnes (wife Rhonda Barnes), Harry Barnes, Henry Barnes; sisters Sarah Barnes (husband Scott Gorman), Ellen Dempsey (husband Scott Dempsey), Elizabeth, and Isabella Barnes; nieces and nephews Paul (wife Edicklee and baby Marcy) and Dahlia Frankel, Noah and Will Barnes, Sophia and Mick Gorman, Ryan, Luke, and Allison Dempsey; uncles Bill Casey (wife Linda) and Dennis Casey; and cousins Arlene and Bill Casey, Max Casey and Brittany Morrison-Vega.

A celebration of life will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, December 28 at the Garner House at Memorial Park, 840 N. Indian Hill Blvd. Claremont, CA 91711.

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made in Louis Frankel’s name by mail to Sycamore Elementary School, 225 W. Eighth St., Claremont, CA 91711, or online through Zelle at  sycamoredonations@gmail.com.