Frank A. LePell, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Frank A. LePell
FRANK A. LEPELL.
Enterprising methods, when combined with study and experience, will put any business man on a prominent road to success and gain an enviable reputation for the manager of the enterprise. In this connection few concerns engaged in the undertaking business have acquired a higher position than that conducted by our subject, F. A. LePell. He is proprietor of one of the best conducted establishments of the kind in the city and is a young man who has made quite a reputation for himself in North Indiana. Mr. LePell was born October 3, 1863, in Valparaiso, Indiana and is a son of Alexander F. and Margaret (Kee) LePell, the former of French descent. In tracing back the genealogy we find that the family came originally from Germany but a number of the members of the family were born in France. Our subject's grandfather, Frederick LePell, and his father, Alexander F. LePell, came to the city of Valparaiso in 1842, before the city was laid out and they were the first undertakers and furniture dealers of Porter County. They made their own caskets and had an extensive business. They also manufactured their own furniture. The undertaking business has been handed down in this family from the great-grandfather who carried on the business in Berlin, Germany, on the river Elbe. The father of our subject followed the business in Valparaiso until his death which occurred in August, 1885. The mother is still living. Their children, three in number, grew to mature years and their names are as follows: George, Otto and Frank A. The latter enjoyed for some time the reputation of being the youngest undertaker in the United States. He grew to man's estate in Valparaiso and received his education in the schools of that city. At an early age he learned the undertaker's trade of his father and when twenty-one years of age he assumed charge of all the business which he has since carried on very successfully. He is also skilled in the art of embalming and is unsurpassed in performing other matters in an equally satisfactory way. In 1883 Mr. LePell was married to Miss Anna Brown, a native of Porter County, .and two sons and a daughter have blessed this union: Floyd, Frank and Ethel. Our subject is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the I. O. O. F., being past grand representative of the last named organization. He and Mrs. LePell are members of the Christian Church and he is serving his second term as treasurer of the same. Mr. LePell is a genial, courteous young man and has attained a high degree of prominence both in business and social circles.
Source: Goodspeed Brothers. 1894. Pictorial and Biographical Record of La Porte, Porter, Lake and Starke Counties, Indiana. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Brothers. 569 p.
Page(s) in Source: 505-506
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook