Frank Medford Binder died peacefully on August 4th on Cape Cod. He was 80.

Frank was born on December 16, 1943, in San Francisco, Ca, but grew up in Leonia, N.J. He graduated from Leonia High School and then continued his education at Dartmouth College. He graduated in 1965 with a degree in Political Science. While at Dartmouth, he was a member of the Bones Gate fraternity, ROTC and the rowing team.

After college, he settled in New Jersey and started working at the family jewelry business, Binder Brothers, Inc. located in New York City. He worked alongside his father Franz, his Uncle Waldemer and later his younger brother Darryl. Binder Brothers, Inc. was incorporated in 1893 and was a leading jewelry manufacturer and wholesaler.

He married Sue Ann Fisher from Greenwich, Conn. and they resided in Demarest, N.J. where they raised their beautiful daughters, Devon and Darcy. He was active as a softball coach, swim coach and an all-around great Dad. He loved going to New York Ranger games and gave the love of the game to his daughter Darcy. The couple divorced in 1980.

From his parents, Franz and Helen Binder, he inherited a lifelong love for being on the water, actually quitting baseball in high school so he could spend more time on his parent’s boat the “Rednib”—Binder spelled backwards. Years later his love of the water led him to purchase his first boat, which he named the Andante. He became a U.S. Coast Guard licensed passenger boat operator and earned the nickname the Fearless Captain among his many boating friends.

He met Kerry Margaret McGuire in the mid 1980’s and they married in July of 1990 aboard his boat the MV Andante, docked in Menemsha Harbor on Martha’s Vineyard. They resided in Pleasantville, N.Y. until 1993, when they decided to make their favorite Island their full-time home and moved to the Vineyard. He decided to sell the Andante as they were now “home”. He continued his many years of travel “on the road” up and down the East Coast calling on jewelry store owners/customers who had over the years become lifelong friends. The jewelry business weathered numerous changes over the years and neither Frank nor Darryl’s children wished to continue the legacy. So, after four generations Binder Brothers closed their doors.

In 2021, the couple left the Vineyard and moved to Mashpee on Cape Cod, finding a wonderful home on the Santuit River Marsh. His final years were spent looking out at the water and admiring the swans.

He is survived by his loving wife Kerry Binder;  beloved daughters Devon Binder of Littleton, Colo. and Darcy Binder and her husband Vahram Mateosian of Montvale, N.J.; Darryl’s wife Susan Binder of Longboat Key, Fla.; their children Tiffany Fehrenbach (Frank) and their children Megan and Jack of Millburn, N.J.; and Derek Binder and his children Aidan and Josie Binder of Peabody, Mass. He is also survived by Kerry’s daughter Ashley Figueroa and son Adam Roytman; Ashley’s former husband Angel Luis Figueroa and their children Aaron, Alex and Angelique Figueroa of Oak Bluffs; Adam and his wife Carolyn; and their children Jackson, Max and Beau Roytman of New Fairfield, Conn.

He was predeceased by his parents Franz and Helen Binder and his brother Darryl Binder.

A memorial gathering will be scheduled on Martha’s Vineyard when family members can come together. Please take a moment to listen to ABBA’s song Andante Andante in Frank’s memory.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in his memory to an Alzheimer’s support group or a foundation of one’s choice.