Franklin Lars "Jake" Flake (August 4, 1935 – June 8, 2008) was an American politician who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

in the

Arizona State 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, the ...

from 2005 until his death. Previous to his term as State Senator, he served as a Representative in the Arizona Legislature, including a stint as Speaker of the House.

Early life and education

Flake was born in

Snowflake, Arizona Snowflake () is a town in Navajo County, Arizona, Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It was founded in 1878 by Erastus Snow and William J. Flake, William Jordan Flake, Mormon pioneers. Snowflake is south of Interstate 40 in Arizona, Interst ...

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 Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

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 The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. He was an uncle to U.S. Representative

Jeff Flake Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the United States House of Repr ...

, who would later become a U.S. Senator and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey. 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 The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figure ...

by Sylvia Allen.

References

External links

Biography
from the ''

Arizona State Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figure ...

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Biography
from the ''

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Arizona Senate, Senate. The House convenes in the le ...

''
Biography
from the '' Arizona State Library'' {{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 members of the Arizona State Legislature