Retirement Didn’t Tax Him Enough

Frank Layton sold soap in Michigan, shoes in Chicago and real estate in Florida before moving to California in 1952. He retired in 1968 as supervisor of inventory control at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Now he’s doing other people’s taxes. For Layton, the businessman, retirement meant a new career that has lasted more than 20 years. Layton lives in Woodland Hills.

I was born June the 4th, 1900. My parents were in business in this little town of Rossville, Ill., at the turn of the century. It’s a farming community out there in the Corn Belt. We had Layton’s Department Store, we had groceries, everything for the farmer. It was very prosperous until the hard roads came through and then most of the business went to Danville, which is the county seat.

I’d go in there as a kid and I’d fill the orders. I’d be working in there and Dad would say, “Hey, the school bell is ringing, you’d better go.” I’d say, “I don’t want to go to school.” I was more interested in working. My dad always said, “He’ll be my businessman.” I was always with my dad. He was quite a father, I appreciated him.

My dad died in 1917, of a heart attack, and so mother put me in a military school. I finished school at St. John’s Military Academy and went out in the world from there. That was my formal education, just high school level.

When I retired in 1968, my wife said, “What are you going to do?” And I said, “I don’t know.” She said, “You’ve always filled in our taxes, why don’t you get into the tax business?” I had never thought about it.

I remember in 1913 my dad was called in by the IRS because that was the first year that the income tax went in and he didn’t file a return. What the hell, he didn’t know anything about it. My mother kidded him because he was called in by the IRS. But evidently he just never gave it a thought.

So I went to H&R; Block and took a class and operated several different stores for them for a couple years. Then, I had a lead from somebody to see Triple Check. They were a very small company then; they owned all their offices. I’ve been with them since ’73.

I enjoy what I’m doing and I’ve got several hundred clients. It just kind of helps to see those people once a year. I’m in that office every week throughout the year, because there’s somebody always who’s got a tax question or somebody coming in who hasn’t filed.

Business is something I’ve been interested in all of my life. I always had a little money. My dad set up a trust fund for me and I never touched it for years. But it was there when I wanted it and I’ve used it.

I don’t own a home, I don’t owe any interest, I’ve never owed any money. My dad taught me that. He said, “Son, if you want to buy something you’d better damn well have the money.” And I’ve lived that way all my life, I’ve never owed anybody. Probably if I did, maybe I’d own a lot of buildings or hotels. I’d probably be living over on the Riviera if I was smart enough. But I wasn’t smart enough. I was working all the time.

I haven’t wanted for anything but it’s been a very lonely life. My wife’s been gone now since ’76 and I’ve been alone. Both my children have done very well. I’ll give credit to my wife for that; she insisted they both have six years of college education. She didn’t have it. I didn’t have it. But she said, “They’re going to have it.”

I try to do what I think my wife would have wanted me to do, God bless her. She was a beautiful girl. But it’s been very lonely, and I think that’s one reason why I’m doing what I’m doing now. I just couldn’t sit down and do nothing, because too many memories would come back.

I hope I’ll be able to lead a useful life and work for several more years. I don’t know how many more years I’ve got left. I thank whoever’s up there that I’ve got another day to go.