On Thursday, July 13 at 2801 Holbrook Dr., 4th District City Councilman Nick Della Volpe will present John Housley III a proclamation honoring Frances "Frankie" Housley.

City Council recently voted to rename the Holbrook Drive Bridge after Frances “Frankie” Housley, a Fountain City native who courageously died in her occupation as flight attendant for National Airlines. After saving 10 passengers from a burning plane that had crash landed on the Philadelphia runway in 1951, she was killed while attempting to save a baby. Rescuers later discovered Housley’s body clutching the baby.

Housley was heralded as a heroine, later described in a Reader’s Digest story as “the Bravest Woman in America” and posthumously awarded a bronze medal for heroic acts by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.

Councilman Nick Della Volpe will present John Housley III, the late Frances Housley’s nephew and closest living relative, with a proclamation memorializing the Frances Housley Bridge. Mr. Housley and his family are visiting from Florida to visit the newly named bridge.

Central High School teacher Chris Hammond, who filed the application to have the Holbrook Drive bridge named after Frankie Housley, will also be present.

Learn more about Frankie Housley:

• City Council Resolution to Name Bridge
• Little-known Knoxville Hero Gets Bridge Named in Her Honor
• Photo Gallery by Central High School Teacher Chris Hammond
• Frankie Housley Wikipedia Page
• Fountain Citians Who Made a Difference
• 1951 New Heroic Comic Book Features Mary Frances Housley's Story
• 1966 Readers Digest Story "A Girl Named Frankie"