‘King Oyster’ Frank Kohler of Tall Timbers – a gentle man – gunned down by Navy Yard Killer

Frank Kohler, who was one of 12 people gunned down in a shooting rampage Monday at a military facility in D.C., was remembered as a man who loved golf and his family.

Fox News — Kohler, 50, was a past president of the Rotary Club in Lexington Park, Md. As such, he proudly held the title of “King Oyster” at the annual festival celebrating the region’s signature bivalve the third weekend of each October.

“He walks around with a crown and robe and gives out candy,” said Bob Allen, Kohler’s former boss at Lockheed Martin in southern Maryland.

The married father of two college-age daughters had driven up to the Washington Navy Yard for a meeting Monday when the shootings occurred, friends told Allen. Allen said Kohler had taken over for him as site manager for the defense contractor, but he was unsure what business his friend had at the Navy Yard.

Allen said Kohler, a graduate of Pennsylvania’s Slippery Rock College, was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and an avid, though not overly skilled, golfer.

“He could probably shoot in the low 90s,” Allen said. When Allen retired, Kohler picked his gift — a gold pocket watch with the inscription, “From your friends in Lockheed Martin to help you putt into the future.”

Kohler lived on the water with his wife, Michelle, an employee at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Allen said his friend loved to boat and fish, and went on frequent hunting trips to Canada.

“A great family man, a Christian, and a great friend,” he said. “It just doesn’t seem possible. I mean, you hear about these things all the time … But when you know somebody, it just makes it all the worse … It’s a Huge loss for southern Maryland.”

As of Tuesday morning, all of the victims in the shooting have been identified. They are Kohler, Arthur Daniels, 51; Mary Francis Knight, 51; Gerald L. Read, 54; Martin Bodrog, 54; Richard Michael Ridgell, 52; Michael Arnold, 59; Sylvia Frasier, 53; Kathy Gaarde, 62; John Roger Johnson, 73; Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46; and Vishnu Pandit, 61.

Arthur Daniels, 51, was shot in the back as he and a colleague arrived at an elevator to get out of the building during the rampage, The Washington Post reported.

“When Arthur was shot, he fell over immediately,” a witness told the paper. Daniels had installed office furniture in government buildings in the area.

Michael Arnold, 59, of Lorton, Va., was a Navy veteran and avid pilot who was building a light airplane at his home, said his uncle, Steve Hunter.

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