Frank Birckhead, 61, a former member of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors, founder of MoneyWise Payroll Solutions and Birckhead Consulting, ardent UVA basketball fan and community volunteer, died unexpectedly at home October 18.
Birckhead was a lifelong resident of Charlottesville, graduating from Albemarle High in 1972 and UVA in 1976. Except for a brief stint in Richmond, his wife, Jackie, says, “For the last 40 years, he’s never lived more than a mile and a half from the university.”
He sat on the Board of Visitors from 1995 to 1998. While a student working on a degree in commerce with a concentration in accounting, Birckhead managed the UVA men’s basketball team and was head manager during its first ACC championship in 1976.
He was the founder and president of the Thomas Jefferson Society of Certified Public Accountants, and served on the boards of the Miller School, the Piedmont Family YMCA and the Senior Center.
United Land Corporation President Wendell Wood says Birckhead and his brother worked for him in the 1960s at Shakey’s Pizza Parlor. “Frank was exceptional,” says Wood. “He was always positive, always get it done. Whenever you’d see him, you felt like you’d just met your best friend.”
Birckhead was a lifelong Republican who loved his dog, Reagan, hot yoga and “being around people and helping others,” says Jackie Birckhead. He was most proud of his family, she says.
“His goal was always to help others achieve their dream,” says his son, Kipps Birckhead.
A memorial service will be held at 3pm Thursday, October 22, at the family cemetery located at University Research Park at North Fork.