USBC and PWBA Hall of Famer Fran Wolf Deken dies at age 81
October 17, 2025
ARLINGTON, Texas – Fran Wolf Deken of Olathe, Kansas, a member of both the United States Bowling Congress and Professional Women’s Bowling Association Halls of Fame, died Oct. 16, 2025. She was 81.
Lauded as one of the most influential people in the history of women’s bowling, Deken was inducted into the PWBA Hall of Fame in 1997 (Meritorious Service/Builder category) and the USBC Hall of Fame in 2006 (Meritorious Service category).
Deken’s lifelong love of the sport began at age 10 when she first bowled at the Winnetka (Illinois) Community House. While she tried other after-school sports such as soccer, field hockey, volleyball, basketball and softball during her high school years at New Trier High School in Winnetka, it was her prowess in bowling that allowed her to compete collegiately at the University of Iowa, where she earned national titles in 1962 (doubles) and 1964 (singles, team, all-events).
Following her collegiate accomplishments, Deken spent some time bowling in the professional ranks with moderate success. Deken then turned her attention to serving the sport in a different way. She became best known as an extraordinary advocate and tireless promoter for the sport of bowling, women’s bowling in particular, where she also became known as one of the preeminent historians of the women’s game.
Following a stint where she served on the PWBA Board of Directors (1976-1981), Deken took on the role of PWBA Tour Tournament Director on two separate occasions (1981-1991 and 2001-2003). It was in this role that she gained notoriety from her industry peers and respect from the women professional bowlers for her behind-the-scenes work and attention to detail.
In a March 2021 feature story that ran on BOWL.com as part of Women’s History Month, Deken said, “I loved competing, but after a couple of years on tour, it became pretty clear to me I probably wouldn't be bowling on any TV shows. The shows ended up being such a high point of the tour, and keeping things moving smoothly behind the scenes so that the players could focus on the bowling was important and very rewarding for me."
Deken’s contributions weren’t limited to her role as PWBA Tournament Director. Deken’s industry experience included roles as Group and Tournament Coordinator for the Showboat Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center in Las Vegas and Director of Operations for the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada.
She served on numerous boards and committees on the state, local and national levels. Included in her service on the national level was a 20-year term on the USBC Hall of Fame Committee (including chairperson from 2012-2014), a stint on the PWBA Hall of Fame Committee, four years as a member of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America Tournament Committee (2012-2014) and decades as a member of the Bowling Writers Association of America (now the International Bowling Media Association) where she served on several committees, was on the board and served as president (2002).
Deken’s service on the local and state level was equally impressive. She was secretary for the Greater Reno WBA (now the Greater Reno Sparks USBC) from 2000-2002. She served on the Tulsa Area USBC Board for several years where she chaired different committees and was president (2017-2018). On the state level, she was the association manager for the Oklahoma State USBC for several years beginning in 2017.
Deken also was a noted contributor when it came to coverage of the sport. At various times in her career, Deken wrote bowling columns, created a bowling report radio show and published a bowling newspaper.
Through all of that, Deken remained an active competitor in the sport. In addition to multiple state and local titles, she logged 38 years at the USBC Women’s Championships (1972-2017), found success as a senior by representing her country and bringing home gold medals in competitions such as the 16th Maccabiah Games, the 10th Pan American Maccabiah Games and the Tournament of the Americas. Deken also owns titles in the Golden Ladies Super Seniors (2005 and 2008) and was named BWAA Senior Bowler of the Year in 2001.
Her storied career earned her numerous accolades, including the BWAA President’s Award (1998 and 2007), the Remo Picchietti Humanitarian of the Year (2010), President’s Choice Award (2012 from the Oklahoma State USBC) and the IBMA Hennessey Award of Merit (2016).
In addition to the aforementioned inductions into the PWBA and USBC Halls of Fame, Deken's dedication and performances also have earned her induction into the Southern Nevada USBC (1997 – Superior Performance), Tulsa Area USBC (2014 – Skill), Oklahoma State USBC (2014 – Skill), Greater Kansas City USBC (2014 – Superior Performance) and Kansas State USBC (2019 – Performance/Service) Halls of Fame.
She is survived by her sons, Paul (June) Wolf and Charlie Wolf; four grandsons – Sam, Dade, Hank and Max Wolf; as well as her lifelong best friends Virginia Norton and Vesma Grinfelds. The family requests no flowers, but donations in her honor may be made to the Inclusion Connections Belong KC Capital Campaign (ickc.org/donate) to build a supported living facility for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.
For more information on the USBC Hall of Fame, visit BOWL.com/HallofFame.
Lauded as one of the most influential people in the history of women’s bowling, Deken was inducted into the PWBA Hall of Fame in 1997 (Meritorious Service/Builder category) and the USBC Hall of Fame in 2006 (Meritorious Service category).
Deken’s lifelong love of the sport began at age 10 when she first bowled at the Winnetka (Illinois) Community House. While she tried other after-school sports such as soccer, field hockey, volleyball, basketball and softball during her high school years at New Trier High School in Winnetka, it was her prowess in bowling that allowed her to compete collegiately at the University of Iowa, where she earned national titles in 1962 (doubles) and 1964 (singles, team, all-events).
Following her collegiate accomplishments, Deken spent some time bowling in the professional ranks with moderate success. Deken then turned her attention to serving the sport in a different way. She became best known as an extraordinary advocate and tireless promoter for the sport of bowling, women’s bowling in particular, where she also became known as one of the preeminent historians of the women’s game.
Following a stint where she served on the PWBA Board of Directors (1976-1981), Deken took on the role of PWBA Tour Tournament Director on two separate occasions (1981-1991 and 2001-2003). It was in this role that she gained notoriety from her industry peers and respect from the women professional bowlers for her behind-the-scenes work and attention to detail.
In a March 2021 feature story that ran on BOWL.com as part of Women’s History Month, Deken said, “I loved competing, but after a couple of years on tour, it became pretty clear to me I probably wouldn't be bowling on any TV shows. The shows ended up being such a high point of the tour, and keeping things moving smoothly behind the scenes so that the players could focus on the bowling was important and very rewarding for me."
Deken’s contributions weren’t limited to her role as PWBA Tournament Director. Deken’s industry experience included roles as Group and Tournament Coordinator for the Showboat Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center in Las Vegas and Director of Operations for the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada.
She served on numerous boards and committees on the state, local and national levels. Included in her service on the national level was a 20-year term on the USBC Hall of Fame Committee (including chairperson from 2012-2014), a stint on the PWBA Hall of Fame Committee, four years as a member of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America Tournament Committee (2012-2014) and decades as a member of the Bowling Writers Association of America (now the International Bowling Media Association) where she served on several committees, was on the board and served as president (2002).
Deken’s service on the local and state level was equally impressive. She was secretary for the Greater Reno WBA (now the Greater Reno Sparks USBC) from 2000-2002. She served on the Tulsa Area USBC Board for several years where she chaired different committees and was president (2017-2018). On the state level, she was the association manager for the Oklahoma State USBC for several years beginning in 2017.
Deken also was a noted contributor when it came to coverage of the sport. At various times in her career, Deken wrote bowling columns, created a bowling report radio show and published a bowling newspaper.
Through all of that, Deken remained an active competitor in the sport. In addition to multiple state and local titles, she logged 38 years at the USBC Women’s Championships (1972-2017), found success as a senior by representing her country and bringing home gold medals in competitions such as the 16th Maccabiah Games, the 10th Pan American Maccabiah Games and the Tournament of the Americas. Deken also owns titles in the Golden Ladies Super Seniors (2005 and 2008) and was named BWAA Senior Bowler of the Year in 2001.
Her storied career earned her numerous accolades, including the BWAA President’s Award (1998 and 2007), the Remo Picchietti Humanitarian of the Year (2010), President’s Choice Award (2012 from the Oklahoma State USBC) and the IBMA Hennessey Award of Merit (2016).
In addition to the aforementioned inductions into the PWBA and USBC Halls of Fame, Deken's dedication and performances also have earned her induction into the Southern Nevada USBC (1997 – Superior Performance), Tulsa Area USBC (2014 – Skill), Oklahoma State USBC (2014 – Skill), Greater Kansas City USBC (2014 – Superior Performance) and Kansas State USBC (2019 – Performance/Service) Halls of Fame.
She is survived by her sons, Paul (June) Wolf and Charlie Wolf; four grandsons – Sam, Dade, Hank and Max Wolf; as well as her lifelong best friends Virginia Norton and Vesma Grinfelds. The family requests no flowers, but donations in her honor may be made to the Inclusion Connections Belong KC Capital Campaign (ickc.org/donate) to build a supported living facility for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.
For more information on the USBC Hall of Fame, visit BOWL.com/HallofFame.