Franklin Lewis Perlmutter of Sherborn, Massachusetts, unexpectedly passed away of heart failure at his home on Friday, June 3, 2016.
He was born November 4, 1958, in Newark, New Jersey, to Harriet Krichman Perlmutter and the late Milton Perlmutter.
He grew up in Short Hills, New Jersey, and attended the Pingry School. While in high school, he was president of the Congregation B’nai Jeshurun Temple Youth Group and the Jersey Federation of Temple Youth.
Frank graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in Psychology. He also studied organizational behavior and management at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
In 1982, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he met his beloved wife and life partner Elizabeth Ann Robins of Rhinelander, Wisconsin. The two married in 1983 and moved to the Boston area where Frank and friend Geoff Palmer co-founded Information Marketing Businesses, one of the nation’s first enterprise workforce management companies.
At IMB, he served as president for 15 years until SimplexGrinnell acquired the business. He was a vice-president at SimplexGrinnell in the time recorder division for several years, playing an instrumental role in the company’s eventual sale to Tyco Corporation.
In 2002 he founded Pondview Capital, LLC, a boutique investment banking firm specializing in merger and acquisition services for both established and emerging companies.
With his wife Liz, Frank dedicated himself to the Dover-Sherborn School District from which the couple’s children Michael, Andrew, and Julia graduated. Frank served as the president of the Sports Boosters for many years, striving to improve the school’s deteriorating stadium. His fundraising efforts and expertise provided the school with a turf field, stadium lighting and a solid polyurethane track. He also worked with the school district to purchase additional land for practice fields adjacent to the high school. The road connecting the properties is officially called “Perlmutter Pass” in his honor. Frank established the Dover-Sherborn Triathlon, now in its 12th year, hosting thousands of participants across the Commonwealth. He mentored several athletic directors and coaches throughout his tenure, contributing to an increasingly competitive sports program and several state championships across multiple men’s and women’s sports.
Frank enjoyed his daily walks with his golden retriever in the Rocky Narrow Reservation. He loved Martha’s Vineyard and specifically the island of Chappaquiddick, where his family vacationed for many summers. Building and fixing anything around the house and a variety of outdoor projects were constant preoccupations for Frank.
Frank was preceded in death by his father Milton Perlmutter, his father-in-law Robert R. Robins and his brother-in-law Karl Southworth.
Frank is survived by his wife Liz and their children Michael, Andrew, and Julia; his mother Harriet; his sister Genesia Kamen (Steven); brother David (Sara Kaplan); his mother-in-law Luann Robins; brother-in-law Rod Robins (Adie); and sister-in-law Jessica Southworth Bates (Alan Bates); and eleven nieces and nephews.
A visitation will be held at George F. Doherty & Son’s Funeral Home, 477 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA, on Tuesday, June 7, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The funeral service will be at Dover-Sherborn High School Mudge Auditorium, 9 Junction Street, Dover, MA, on Wednesday, June 8, at 3:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested contributions be sent to Boston Children’s Hospital in memory of Franklin Perlmutter. Friends and family are invited to share their recollections of Frank on the Lifeposts page set up in his memory: http://bit.ly/FrankPerlmutter