Franklin Lars "Jake" Flake (August 4, 1935 – June 8, 2008) was an American politician who served as a Senator in the Arizona State Legislature from 2005 until his death. Previous to his term as State Senator, he served as a

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

in the Arizona Legislature, including a stint as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the House.

Early life and education

Flake was born in

Snowflake, Arizona Snowflake is a town in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It was founded in 1878 by Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake, Mormon pioneers It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. According to 2010 Census, the popula ...

to Virgil Maeser Flake and Gerda Flake, née Hendrickson. He was born Franklin Lars Flake, but his father soon gave him the nickname "Jake", and that is what he was called most of his life. He graduated from Arizona State University in 1960.

Career

Flake was a cattle rancher by profession, and he and three of his brothers raised the Beefmaster breed. After graduating from college, he returned to Snowflake and lived there until his election to the Arizona House of Representatives in 1996, after which he divided his time between Snowflake and Phoenix. Flake served a mission for his church among the Navajo in the state of Arizona. Previous to entering state politics, he served as president of the Snowflake Arizona Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Personal life

He married Mary Louise Skouson in 1959; they had 13 children and 53 (as of June 11, 2008) grandchildren. Mary Louise was an excellent musician who played French horn in the Silver Creek Symphony, as well as playing the solo piano part with that group on Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. They were members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

. He was an uncle to former U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative Jeff Flake. Flake died on the morning of June 8, 2008. He had been at home recovering from a horseback riding accident. He was succeeded in the Arizona Senate by Sylvia Allen.

References

External links

Biography
from the ''

Arizona legislature The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, th ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Flake, Jake 1935 births 2008 deaths Republican Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Republican Party Arizona state senators American Mormon missionaries in the United States 20th-century Mormon missionaries People from Snowflake, Arizona Speakers of the Arizona House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians