Frank Gary, Jr. was born in Abbeville in 1900. He was educated at The Citadel and the United States Naval Academy, receiving a B.S. in 1922. He received an LL.B. from the University of South Carolina Law School in 1928. He practiced in Spartanburg and Columbia and was co-founder of the firm of Cooper, Gary, Nexsen and Pruet.
During World War II, he served as a Captain in the United States Navy and was awarded the Chevalier Legion of Honor, the Croix de Guerre, and the Greece Order of the Phoenix.
He served as President of the Richland Bar in 1950; Chairman of the Executive Committee of the South Carolina Bar in 1952; President of the South Carolina Bar in 1963; Delegate to the American Bar Association from 1954 through 1960 and a State Delegate to the American Bar Association from 1965 on. He was a Life Member of the American Law Institute and a member of the Bar of the City of New York and various legal societies, civic organizations and social clubs. He served as a vestryman of the Trinity Episcopal Church, a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, Who’s Who and the Commission on Higher Education.
A wise counsellor, a skillful lawyer, loyal friend, delightful companion, bon vivant and clubman, he upheld his family’s high standards of ethics, courage and integrity. He contributed to the administration of justice, served his country in peace and war, and met death with equanimity.