Whether inspiring high school students to think independently, or inspiring citizens, including a future mayor, to take on powerful interests, Frank Ario left a lasting impression and was hailed Wednesday, when he died of cancer at age 86.
“He is one of my heroes,” said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who has declared Friday “Frank Ario Day.”
Rybak was an activist involved in the airport noise issue before becoming mayor and came to know Ario, who lived in south Minneapolis not far from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Ario and his wife, Georgette, became lead plaintiffs in a lawsuit to combat airport noise. The anti-noise fight developed into a campaign that led to insulation of many homes and a reduction of airplane noise.
“It was assumed there was no way to fight the unchecked noise pollution that was destroying neighborhoods across the south side of the city,” said Rybak. “Frank taught us to stand up for the places [where] we live.”
Ario was president of South Metro Airport Action Council, a group fighting the noise.
He also made a mark as a teacher. In his social studies and philosophy classes at Washburn High in Minneapolis, he encouraged spirited debates on topics such as war and civil rights, abortion and capital punishment, where he encouraged students to think independently.
When he retired in 1987 after teaching social studies for 30 years, a Star Tribune article said, “Frank Ario is a legend among students at Washburn High School.”
Len Ritter, a retired math teacher, says a lot of students wanted to get into Ario’s classes. “He got them thinking and learning,” Ritter said.
“He made it fun and he made it challenging,” recalls former student Jeff Johnson, 54
Born in Mankato in 1924, Ario was drafted into the Army in World War II. A national magazine, “America In WWII,” described how Ario saved the life of two wounded German soldiers. The Rev. Howard Bell, the associate minister at Mayflower Church, United Church of Christ, in Minneapolis, where Ario was a church leader, said it was an indication of “how deeply he believed every human life was important.”
Ario told the Star Tribune he witnessed “massive destruction … death and carnage” and felt a need to give some meaning to his life.
Joel Ario, a son, said his father first found meaning in Christianity, and then in teaching after graduating from Augsburg College.
In 1964, Frank Ario was the adviser to Washburn’s Politix Club, which wanted to hear a socialist speaker. Ario invited Mulford Q. Sibley, a professor at the University of Minnesota. In response to complaints, the principal canceled Sibley’s visit, which became front-page news. Teachers signed petitions, opposing the cancellation. Ario defended the invitation on the basis of free speech, saying: “I feel these kids are not so gullible that they are going to accept everything they hear, no matter who the speaker is.” Sibley wound up addressing about 400 students at a church.
Ario also started men’s and women’s soccer teams at the school, winning the girls’ state high school soccer championship in 1981.
In addition to his wife, Georgette, and son Joel of Hershey, Pa., Ario is survived by sons Bruce and Kevin of Minneapolis, David of St. Paul; a sister, Arlien, and six grandchildren.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in Mayflower Church, 106 E. Diamond Lake Road, Minneapolis.
Randy Furst
Posted initially at www.startribune.com
