Kevin Tresolini

The News Journal

Frank Masley, the Christiana High graduate who became an unlikely three-time U.S. Winter Olympian in the luge, died Saturday from cancer.

Masley, 56, was elected by teammates to carry the U.S. flag during Opening Ceremonies at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo in the former Yugoslavia.

He also competed in the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, in 1980 and Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1988.

“It’s got to be my proudest moment,” Masley told The News Journal’s Beth Miller, reporting from Sarajevo, after those 1984 Opening Ceremonies. “I felt so proud to be an American.”

He added that, when he saw U.S. fans waving their flags, he wanted to do the same with his stars and stripes.

“But I had to hold it straight,” he said.

Donna Masley said her husband never stopped being flattered by the honor of being Olympic flag-bearer.

“It meant so much to him,” she said. “It was one of the highlights of his life.”

When his competitive days ended, Masley found another way to hoist the U.S. His company, Masley Enterprises, manufactured specialized gloves for the U.S. military.

He was as proud of that accomplishment as he was of his Olympic achievements, his wife said.

“It is an Olympic effort just to be an entrepreneur in the United States alone,” she said. “It’s difficult but we’ve been able to work through all the barriers. No barrier is hard for us because we’re a team. He’s my Olympic athlete and I’m his obstinate person who says ‘We’re going to get it done no matter what it takes.’ ”

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell had known Masley since, as 16-year-olds, they took a summer-school English class together. The two saw the film "Star Wars" together when it first came out in theatres. He called Masley "an extraordinarily nice guy."

"Frank went on to greatness, as an athlete, a business person, a leader in our community and especially as a husband and father," Markell said. "He and Donna have worked so hard to employ people in Delaware and he just loved providing others with opportunity.

"His death is a huge loss for our state and our hearts ache for Donna and the kids."

Masley had been diagnosed with melanoma in February, his wife said, and had been receiving special treatment at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia.

“Phenomenal efforts by everyone there,” Donna Masley said of Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center. “They gave me my husband for seven months because without them I wouldn’t have had him.”

Funeral arrangements are still pending. Frank and Donna Masley are the parents of children Dean, 22; Steven, 20; and Paige, 17.

Coming from a state where the highest elevation is just 447 feet above sea level, being a Winter Olympian is tough sledding. But Masley picked up luge by trying a beginner’s program on a trip to Lake Placid in 1976 when he was 16.

He was hooked and soon was part of the U.S. junior team.

In addition to the three Olympic appearances, where he competed in singles and doubles with Ray Bateman, who died in 1990, Masley won 12 national titles.

Masley placed 14th in men’s singles in Sarajevo and 12th in Calgary, the highest-ever finish up to that point by a U.S. luger. He and Bateman were 18th in doubles in Lake Placid and 13th in Sarajevo.

Just after completing his competitive career, Masley graduated from Drexel with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1989. Masley was inducted to the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. He later earned a master's degree at Goldey-Beacom College and was inducted to Goldey-Beacom's Distinguished Alumni Gallery in 2010.

With Donna, Masley operated Masley Enterprises, which manufactured specialized gloves that were particularly geared for cold weather and other severe climates. After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, they became especially important to the U.S. military, such as for its operations in Afghanistan.

After first operating from a shop in the basement of their Brandywine Hundred home and then at Germay Industrial Park, the Masleys were lauded in 2008 for opening an East Wilmington shop and relying on U.S. workers and goods at a time when many similar companies were moving overseas.

“It’s just so heavenly, it’s paradise there,” Donna Masley said. “We will continue Frank’s legacy of making gloves for U.S. military and supporting our staff of 30 who are from Wilmington. We are an amazing well-oiled machine.”

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.