HANKS, Earl W.

HANKS, LITTLE, WATT, EVANSON, DRIGGS, CHASTEEN, BUCKS

Posted By: Lynette Edsall (email)
Date: 5/1/2008 at 15:34:31

Earl W. Hanks, 84, longtime Quimby resident passed away Sunday, March 30, 2008, at Cherokee Villa Nursing and Rehab Center in Cherokee, Iowa.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Quimby United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Carolyn Hollar officiating. Burial will be in Quimby Cemetery, with military rites conducted by the American Legion Lyle W. Barnes Post 398 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Wescott Post 2253. There will be a family prayer service at 10:15 a.m. Thursday at the church. Visitation will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. today, with the family present 6:30 to 8 p.m., at Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee.

Earl was born Jan. 14, 1924, in Sioux Falls, S.D., to Aesof and Rachel (Little) Hanks. He attended Ida Grove, Iowa, schools. While in high school, he worked at the Ida Grove Theater, running the movie projector. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 1943 and served his country until being honorably discharged in November 1945. During World War II, he served with the 44th Infantry Regiment, stationed in Germany, Austria, France, England and Ireland. He was injured and received the Purple Heart Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and a President's Citation.

He was married to Dorothy Watt on July 9, 1944, in Salina, Kan. After returning home from the service, he worked as a farm hand in Ute, Iowa, for a short time. Then in 1947 he started working at Simonsen's in Quimby. He worked there for 41 years, retiring in 1988. He had been a resident of the Cherokee Villa since April 2007.

He served on the Quimby City Council from 1974 to 2001 and the Cherokee County Landfill Commission from 1975 to 1999. He was a member of Quimby United Methodist Church. He was very active in the American Legion, serving as commander of the Lyle W. Barnes Post 398 for many years. He also was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars L.A. Wescott Post 2253. He loved to go fishing and enjoyed working in the garden.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; a son and his wife, Earl Eugene and Peggy Hanks of Milwaukie, Ore.; a daughter, Thelma Jean Hanks of Quimby; three granddaughters, Tina Marie Hanks of Milwaukie, Ore., Carrie Lynn Hanks and her special friend, Tim Evanson of Auburn, Wash., and Stacie Ann and her husband, David Driggs of Cherokee, Iowa; four great-grandchildren, Dylon and Aspyn Evanson and Allison and Zachary Driggs; three sisters, Dolsie Chasteen of Milwaukie, Ore., Etta Chasteen and Rosella Chasteen of Hubbard, Ore.; four brothers and their wives, James and Mary Hanks of Missouri Valley, Iowa, Wayne Hanks and Pat Buck Hanks of Cherokee, Jerry and Donna Hanks of Onawa, Iowa, and Gilbert and Darlene Hanks of Oregon City, Ore.; a sister-in-law, Kathy Hanks of Onawa, Iowa; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and three brothers, Dale, Louis and Walter Hanks.