Frank “Big Chief” Kendrick

September 11, 1950 – December 18, 2024

Frank “Big Chief” Kendrick, 74, Indianapolis, passed away peacefully at home with his wife and children by his side after a short four-week fight with a rare aggressive sarcoma.

Frank was born to George and Odesta Kendrick on September 11, 1950, the seventh of nine children.

Frank graduated from Arsenal Tech in 1970, where he was All-City as a Junior, an Indiana All Star and All American as a Senior. Frank was a proud Tech Titan, and was inducted in the Arsenal Tech Hall of Fame in 2020. Frank led the Indiana All Star Squad in both scoring and rebounding in two games versus the Kentucky All Stars where he was named Indianapolis Star, Star of Stars. Frank then went on to have an incredible career at Purdue University, where he was one of 55 players in Purdue Boilermaker history to amass 1,000 points, scoring 1,269 in three seasons. He was the Purdue MVP his junior and senior years, was All Big Ten his junior and senior years, and was a 1974 All American. Frank led his team to the 1974 NIT Championship where he was the NIT MVP. He was then drafted by the Golden State Warriors, where he won an NBA championship as a rookie and remained a lifelong Warriors fan.

Pending the NBA/ABA merger, he decided to try his hand at playing in Europe, where he met his lovely wife, Mieke, and decided to stay and play professionally in Europe from 1975 to 1985, where their first son, Kristof, was born in March of 1984. They then moved back to the States where his little girl, Melanie, was born in January of ’86. He was then hired as an Assistant Coach at Purdue, right as their youngest son, Emiel, was born in September of 1989. His time playing and coaching at Purdue were some of the best years of his life. His coaching and recruiting at Purdue helped lead the Boilers to win three straight outright Big Ten Titles in 1994, ‘95, and ‘96. At that point the ‘90s were the winningest decade in Purdue basketball history.

He then became the Head Coach & Director of Basketball Operations for the Gary Steelheads, a CBA team, in 2000. Frank was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Purdue University Hall of Fame in 2016. He eventually slowed down in Fishers after running a successful organization of Kendrick Basketball Camps, giving private basketball lessons, and working as an Instructional Assistant at Noblesville High School before he officially retired in the summer of 2024.

Nobody loved his family more fiercely than Frank. His proudest moments involved his kids, from watching his son and prodigy, Kristof, play basketball through college, coaching and announcing, to his daughter becoming a judge, to his youngest becoming a successful businessman. Each child embodies his passion, intelligence, and congeniality that made Frank who he is.

The only thing he loved as fiercely as his children was his wife, Mieke. Frank’s foray into European basketball landed him on the same team as a junior player named Bart, who quickly became a close friend. Frank swiftly became a quick addition to the Lambrecht kitchen table, so much so, that he fell in love with Bart’s sister, Mieke. As many of you probably have experienced, he’d let anybody, ages 1 to 100, try on his NBA Championship ring. He wore that ring on the same finger as his wedding ring and even though everyone would want to try on the NBA ring, he’d never hesitate to point to his wedding band and say “This one is worth the most.”

Frank’s love and zest for life was what he was most known for. He always had a smile on his face, and was known for the mentality of “Everybody’s my friend until they prove me otherwise.” This mindset is what gave his children’s friends the inspiration for the nickname “Big Chief” – he was the center of the town, the leader, the one everybody knew and loved. Words cannot adequately describe the impact Frank had on hundreds if not thousands of people throughout his life, and we won’t even attempt to try.

Frank was predeceased by his beloved father and mother, George and Odesta Kendrick, as well as his siblings, George Webster Kendrick, Willa Bell Bacon Kendrick, Robert Kendrick, and David “Zeke” Kendrick.

He is survived by wife, Mieke (Lambrecht) Kendrick, oldest son, Kristof Kendrick (Paige), daughter, Judge Melanie Kendrick, and youngest son, Emiel Kendrick (Laura). Frank is also survived by his older sisters, Mary Kendrick Grandberry and Barbera Jean Oliver, younger sister, Elizabeth “Teach” Kendrick, and younger brother, James Kendrick, as well as many nieces and nephews he loved as his own, and hundreds of former players and mentees he treated like family.

Per Frank’s wishes, he will be cremated. A Celebration of Life will be held at a time and location to be determined in late January.

The family wishes to thank the IU Health doctors and nursing staff at University Hospital and especially IU Health Hospice care whose excellent nurses and staff assisted in the very loving care of Frank and the family so he could spend his last days at home.

Memorial contributions may be made to Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis, 615 Alabama St., Suite 400, Indianapolis, IN 46204 (bgcindy.org).

Condolences: randallroberts.com