Frank Calvin Ingraham

         FRANKLIN – Frank Calvin Ingraham, 93, of Franklin, TN went to be with the Lord peacefully Monday, March 20, 2023. Family private burial was held at Tap Root Farm. A Celebration of Life service is set for 11 a.m., April 15, 2023, Church of The City, Franklin, with fellowship afterward. Visitation will be from 10 until 11 a.m.

     He began his law practice in 1954 and retired in 2014. Admitted to the Tennessee Bar and the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, he was a Roscoe Pound Fellow, founding member of the American Trial Lawyers Foundation, and held memberships in the Nashville Bar Foundation, Williamson County Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, American Bar Association, the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, and the American Trial Lawyers Association. He graduated from Baylor University in 1951, and Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1954.

     A retired Captain in the U.S. Air Force, he served as Executive Officer/Staff Judge Advocate (JAG) and legal advisor to the base Commander.  Over the years, he represented thousands of corporations and individuals, including national and state nonprofit organizations and denominations.  Known as a fierce litigator, he was proud of first impression cases (i.e., in Knopp v. American Airlines where he established the right of the injured public to common law recovery from the airlines and in Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes Inc. v. I.R.S. which established a religious institution’s affiliate’s right not to file a 990 tax form).

      Mr. Ingraham’s priorities were his love for the Lord Jesus, for his wife Frances, and for their children. His home, Tap Root Farm in Franklin, was a daily retreat from the law practice. His large garden was the place he purposefully worked with his three children -- without distraction -- teaching them lifelong spiritual lessons and connecting with each child. Guests were always welcome at dinnertime and the table was a place of meaningful sharing, stories, tears, and laughter. There was always an extra room ready for guests/friends to come and stay as long as needed.

     After purchasing land on Clovercroft Road in 1961, Frank and Frances named their place Tap Root Farm based upon a verse of scripture, Jeremiah 17:7-8:

     “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream, and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.” 

     Frank had these words engraved upon the entry post to their farm, and anyone who made acquaintance with the Ingrahams would agree this scripture was exhibited in their lives.

     He served as a Sunday school teacher for more than 60 years, studying each week’s lesson beginning a 5 a.m. daily, next to a large set of windows overlooking crops and grazing cattle in the lower pastures. His Bible studies were always lively and popular. He and his family were members of Belmont Heights Baptist Church where he grew up, and in the early 1980s joined First Baptist Church, Franklin – now Church of The City. He served as deacon with each church and was elected among the first elders of Church of The City.

     His love of cattle involved his children in the Tennessee Junior Livestock Association, attending many shows and conventions, and forming lifelong relationships.  He served on the Board of Directors of the National Cattlemen’s Association (Tax Committee) and was its Washington lobbyist for more than 20 years, and was involved in state matters through the Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association. Frank loved his cows and always saw Jesus when he worked in the soil.

     Frank was preceded in death by his wife, Frances Rose; son, Harold (Hal) Eric Ingraham; sisters Anna Ley Ingraham and Marcia Lou Durham; and his parents Harold Edward Ingraham and Sybil Ley Ingraham.

     SURVIVORS: Frank, or as his grandchildren called him “Par,” is survived by his daughters Susan Rose Ingraham and Marianna Wilson and husband Jim; grandchildren Erica Anne Hopkins and husband Ronnie; Kurt Calvin Ingraham and wife Lauren; Carmen Rose Wilson; Meredith Ley Wilson; Lucia Genevieve Memmel and husband Joseph; and great grandchildren Ashlynn, Walker, and Ronnie.

     MEMORIALS: Donations may be made to the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home or The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY.