Frank Leslie Sparks (1920-1988) was born in Vancouver. During the War he served initially in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He subsequently served in the Canadian Army in Calgary as part of the Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. After the War he attended the University of British Columbia, earning a mechanical engineering degree in 1950. After settling in Calgary, he became President of McIntosh Equipment Ltd., which manufactured steel parts for oil field suppliers.