NORWICH – Hurlburt Robbins (Hub) Frink, devoted husband, father and grandfather, dedicated IBMer, inveterate golfer and unrepentant coffee drinker, passed away at 89 Saturday, May 12, surrounded by his family.
Hub was born March 29, 1918, in Elmira, New York, and grew up in Norwich, New York.  A dues-paying member of America’s “Greatest Generation,” Hub attended Duke University for two years prior to joining the Army Air Forces. He served during World War II in the South Pacific on Saipan as a radio and radar technician on B-29 long-range bombers.  Hub lost his only brother, Wheeler, in the war and, like most WWII veterans, rarely mentioned Wheeler’s or his own service. He had to forego the completion of his college education after the war to support his recently widowed Gold Star mother, but never talked about it as a hardship.
Hub married the love of his life, Helen, on Jan. 25, 1947, and began a career and family journey that led him and Helen from Norwich to Vestal, Kensington, Md., Houston, Texas, back to Vestal, Reston, Va., and finally, Austin, Texas. He and Helen produced three sons along the way, sharing laughter, love, cocktails – and a lot of coffee – during a 57-year marriage ended only by Helen’s death in 2004.
Hub had numerous interests in life, among them music, singing and the cultivation of his various lawns, but his true delights included Helen, his boys, IBM, golf, and The University of Texas and its Longhorns. Have we mentioned coffee?
Hub was tough and he demanded your best effort; no matter the activity, his goal was excellence. Gifted in speech, Hub combined colorful words and phrases – many unprintable here – that could amuse or terrify anyone within earshot. He delivered his counsel, often laced with humor, invective or stinging sarcasm, in a linguistic elegance that may be imitated, but cannot be duplicated.  Just days before his death, after a drip of coffee spilled from a cup – of coffee – as a son helped him get it to his lips, he dryly intoned, “I prefer it in my mouth.” 
 While demanding, he was loving. His support was spiritual, financial and uncompromising. He made his sons’ loves, battles and concerns his own and pursued them with a passion. We loved the Yankees. He made sure we saw Mantle, Maris and the other pin stripers. We loved basketball. He made sure we laced up in Chuck Taylor Converse All-Stars, and there wasn’t a single dribble or shot unappreciated. We loved the Beatles. He listened to the albums, sang along and declared, “Your music is better than ours.” We loved cars. When acquiring a new family Pontiac, he allowed a custom order (under exacting budget parameters). A bright yellow, two-door, bucket-seated, 421-cubic-inch engine, four-barrel carburetor-powered muscle car resulted. We loved The University of Texas.  He ensured we graduated from UT – with no student loans to repay – made it his adopted alma mater, and teared up when he heard “The Eyes of Texas.” Later, as his sons and daughters-in-law began careers and families, there was no detail too small for his interest and no victory or event too small for him to gush over.
Hub started his business life with Bendix and became the epitome of the corporate man with IBM. He began his 29-year stint with the company as a cost engineer in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and later was a systems analyst, financial analyst and controller in Owego, N.Y., Rockville, Md., Houston, Texas and Manassas, Va. His record of personal achievement, work ethic, rep-striped ties, Brooks Brothers’ suits and wingtips made Hub the consummate IBMer.  His friendships with fellow IBMers across the country lasted long after his retirement in 1985.
Hub made many new friends in retirement as a stalwart member of Austin’s Seton Medical Center volunteer staff, including a term on its board. He spent many hours at Seton and especially enjoyed chatting with the nurses and working the cash register at the gift shop. He often joked he was “Director of Popcorn.”
Hub’s primary avocation was, of course, golf.  An outstanding player, evidenced by his 1957 and 1958 IBM Country Club Flight Championships, Hub was an even better instructor. His knowledge of the game, its etiquette and, more importantly, the Swing, was second to none.  His self-published primer on golf, “All About The Golf Swing,” which included photos of himself demonstrating and some typically caustic commentary, was a runaway success in 1984, requiring four printings – about 200 copies. His knack for golf instruction led him to coach many struggling hackers during his 50-plus-year affair with the game. Remember, “Smooth it!”
Hub’s wit and wisdom will be sorely missed, but remembered and cherished as he leaves behind a legacy of dedication and loyalty to family, work, friends and the institutions he loved. It must be reported – and it was no surprise to family members gathered – that Hub’s halting and last, but beautifully crafted words, were, “Are we going to have coffee ever again?”
 Hub was preceded in death by his wife, Helen, and his brother, Wheeler.  He is survived by his three sons, Bill and wife Helen, and David and wife Cheryl, of Austin; Clayton and wife Belle of Madison, Wis.; seven grandchildren, Kelly, Geoffrey, Mitchell, Jack, Bob, Molly and Christy; and, several nieces and nephews in Vestal and upstate New York. The Frink family would like to thank the staff of The Summit Assisted Living Center on Mesa Drive in Austin for its kindness, loving care and the friendship provided Hub during the past three years.
A memorial service celebrating Hub’s life will be at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, at Cook-Walden Chapel of the Hills, 9700 Anderson Mill Road.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to make a contribution in Hub’s name to the Capital of Texas Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.