Frankie Carnes, Longtime Belmont County Public Servant, Dies at 82
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Longtime member of the Belmont County Board of Elections and public servant Frankie Lee Carnes died this past week at the age of 82 following a short illness.
Carnes served as the first female director of the Belmont County Board of Elections, taking over the position in 1975.
Carnes always expressed an affinity for the older punch card system of voting, but grew to embrace the newer voting technologies.
In 1995, she became the first chairwoman of the board, succeeding her husband, former Ohio Sen. James Carnes, R-St. Clairsville.
For the past two decades, Frankie Carnes has been an advocate for those suffering from cancer and their loved ones whose lives also were touched by the disease.
She combined her concern for cancer patients with her love for drinking tea. In 2005, she began her "Sterling Tea Ministry" after having been diagnosed and later surviving breast cancer. It would later become known as the "Tea of Hope."
Carnes invited other cancer survivors and family members to join her for an afternoon tea at the First Christian Church in Barnesville, and these events happened annually over each of the last 20 years.
At the most recent tea in April, she told those present she would be retiring from the event and that her large family would be continuing the tradition.
"When you hear the Carnes name in our community, you immediately think of Jim and Frankie Carnes," said Belmont County Commissioner Vince Gianangeli. "She served the community for over 50 years on the board of elections. She always ran the office by the book, and was well respected.
"Her expertise will be hard to replace. We pray for her family during this difficult time."
Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann added he also appreciated Carnes' service to the county and the board of elections.
"Certainly, down through the years, we've been really proud of the work in general from our board of elections," he said. "We've had very little problems at all during the elections. Everything is always run efficiently and fairly -- and of course she would have been a very big part of that."
As both the wife of a state senator and an elections director, Carnes was also largely involved with Republican Party politics in both Belmont County and throughout Ohio.
"She was a worker in our party," said former County GOP Chairman David Jones. "She was honest and sincere in every decision she made. This will be a big loss to our party."