Jake Flake

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Franklin Lars "Jake" Flake (August 4, 1935 – June 8, 2008) was an American politician who served as a Senator in the Arizona State Legislature from 2005 until his death. Previous to his term as State Senator, he served as a Representative in the Arizona Legislature, including a stint as the Speaker of the House. Jake Flake was a cattle rancher by profession, and he and three of his brothers raised the Beefmaster breed.

Flake was born in Snowflake, Arizona, and continued to live there for his entire life. He was born Franklin Lars Flake, but his father soon gave him the nickname "Jake", and that is what he was called most of his life. He married Mary Louise Skouson in 1959; they had 13 children and 53 (June 11, 2008) grandchildren. They are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before his marriage, Flake served a mission for his church among the Navajo in the state of Arizona. He was an uncle to the U.S. Congressman Jeff Flake.

State Senator Flake died on the morning of June 8, 2008 due to heart failure.^[1] He had been at home recovering from a previous horseback riding accident.