Frank Maurice Lindley, age 91, of Salem, Indiana passed into his Heavenly home on January 9, 2026. He was born on March 5, 1934 in rural Washington County, Indiana to Clifford and Olive (Chambers) Lindley.
He attended Phillips School and then Salem High School, from which he graduated in 1952. He then proudly joined the U.S. Navy where he served as an aircraft mechanic in Japan. After his service, he married Carolyn Elliott and they lived briefly in California as he attended Northrop Aeronautical Institute. Upon his graduation, they made their home in Mooresville, Indiana and he began working for Roscoe Turner at the Weir Cook Airport in Indianapolis where he remained as the company changed to Combs Gates and then American Airlines. Upon his retirement, they returned to his family home in Salem.
Frank had a long history with bicycles, from his early experience of breaking his leg while careening down a hill when he was ten years old, to riding his bicycle from Salem to Brown County, Indiana upon his high school graduation, to spending a summer riding across the United States in 1976. As a younger man, he raced bicycles, then enjoyed touring, and later created a design for recumbent bicycles and resumed racing again with those. He also loved music, playing guitar and harmonica, and singing with family and friends throughout his life. He attended many bluegrass festivals and concerts over the years in many different states. Most recently, he enjoyed being part of the Creekside Band and Friends, playing each week at Spring Mill State Park and other locations. He was proud of his Cherokee heritage and participated in many re-enactments and historical events. For many years, he was a member of the Midwest Cherokee Alliance and he loved to sing “Amazing Grace” in the Cherokee language. He was a lover of nature, hard work, solitude, and serenity. He had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to read about history. He loved his family, his home, and anything chocolate. He was skilled at making walking sticks and gourd rattles and was the family’s shade-tree mechanic and fixer of all things. Frank had a sincere and solid faith in the Lord. He was baptized in Rush Creek as a boy, and he grew up as a member of Highland United Methodist Church in Washington County, Indiana. He attended the First United Methodist Church of Mooresville while living there, then resumed attending at Highland after retirement. He helped lead the singing and did many specials during his years there.
He is survived by children: Randy (Jan Davis) Lindley, Jeanette Lindley, Patty Lindley, and Jeff (Monica Doyle) Lindley; grandchildren: Shanna Powell and Mindy (Craig Shauwecker) Lindley, and bonus grandson Morgan Davis; great-grandchildren: Grace (Nathan) Stambaugh, Carter Powell, Chaytin Powell, Kylee Feeback, Waylon Feeback, and bonus great-grandson Cole Feeback; and great-great grandchildren: Emersyn and Emmett Stambaugh. He also leaves behind a host of nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Olive Lindley; an infant sister, Betty Lindley; his brother, Howard Lindley; his son, Frank Lindley, Jr.; and his beloved wife, Carolyn Lindley.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at Hughes-Taylor Funeral Home – Salem Chapel with Bro. George Browning officiating. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until time of service at the funeral home. Burial to follow at Covenanter Cemetery.
www.hughestaylor.net
