Skip Franklin, 66 years old, passed on Saturday, May 6 in St. Louis, Missouri, while visiting friends and family.

He was born on October 11, 1956, in Palo Alto, California to the late Selim “Bud” and Dianne Franklin. He was the oldest of four children and grew up in Costa Mesa, California.

Skip graduated from Newport Harbor High School in 1974 and during his four years at NHHS he played on multiple teams: football, Basketball and Track (shot put & discuss).  He then attended Orange Coast Community College in Costa Mesa & Principia College in Elsah, Illinois where he graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration.  

While at Principia College, Skip played football, basketball and was an All-American in the shot put.  He still holds the outdoor shot-put record. 

After college, Skip worked in Orange and Los Angeles Counties and then moved in 1987 to Redmond, Washington.   He worked for a few companies before partnering with friends to create a company that they named Amaze Inc! in 1990.  The company produced the award-winning Far Side Computer Calendar & Screensaver. Additional product partnerships with Dilbert, Cathy, Bloom County/Opus, Trivial Pursuit and Random House (Word-of-the-Day).  The company was sold in 1993.

Skip’s entrepreneurial spirit led him on a 30-year journey co-founding or partnering in a variety of startup companies. The Mountain Zone (1995-2000), PhotoTrust (2000-2002), Pass/Along Networks and Speakerheart (2004-2009), and Tools of the Trade (2021-2023).  

He was passionate about music and loved Nashville.  He enjoyed building relationships and networking with artists.  Over the past 15 years, he helped produce and promote events in Nashville, Travers City, and a few California cities.  Skip also championed the careers of many up-and-coming music artists, including his former wife, Terri Richter. It is evident from the outpouring of love and appreciation on Skip’s Facebook page that his unwavering support meant a lot to many people.     

For many years Skip served as a Board of Trustee for Adventure Unlimited and an active member of its National Alumni Board, and a philanthropic supporter. 

Skip deeply loved his family, especially his two sons – Jacob (18) and Colin (16) and worked hard to play an active role in their lives.  He is preceded in death by his father, Selim Franklin and his mother, Dianne Kress Franklin.  He is survived by his sisters, Pam Keiser, and Val (Dan) Parker, brother Rick (Julie) Franklin, former wife, Terri Richter, and Aunt Shirley Cooney along with nieces, nephews, and cousins.