“He had a hard fight,” said Frank Lenzi’s beloved wife Margie who was bravely manning the phones at Cleveland Freightlines in Adelaide today, fielding calls of condolences and helping to wrap up all the loose ends before the doors close for good on December 30.
Frank died in palliative care, aged 87, on Saturday, December 17.
Margie says she had been preparing to look after Frank full-time after he only recently stepped away from working the busy fleet due to ill health after 45 years.
“It was a hard decision for Frank to have to make,” said a stoic Margie of her husband’s decision to close the doors at Cleveland Freightlines, which boasts a fleet of 30 and a staff of 60.
“He was on the cliff, then over an abyss and finally in the canyon – that’s how the doctors described it to me.
“It was just so fast. A legend gone.
“It was 7pm on the dot, that was always his lucky number.”
Margie says she’s grateful to the family and wonderful friends in transport rallying in support, including Sharon and Bob Middleton from Whiteline Transport in Adelaide.
“I want to thank everyone associated with Frank in any field, be it boat racing or transport,” she said.
“He did an amazing thing for transport, and I know he was admired and loved by everybody.”
No date has been set for the funeral, but Margie says it will be after Christmas and the service will be followed by a celebration of Frank’s many legendary achievements in road transport.
A true pioneer and icon of the industry, Frank started the business in 1977 and has grown it into what it is today – one of the longest continuously operating transport companies to specialise in the east to west express service.