Banwart, Franklin "Frank" J. (1933-2013)
BANWART, BENNINGER, HOTEK, GARRINGER, WIRTZ, STRAHM, HERRICK, DUTCHER, SMITH, KINSETH
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 6/23/2013 at 12:59:23
Franklin "Frank" J. Banwart
(March 16, 1933 - May 23, 2013)Franklin “Frank” J. Banwart, age 80, of Lake Mills, died on Thursday, May 23, 2013, at his home.
Franklin James Banwart was born on March 16, 1933, on a farm outside of West Bend, Iowa, to Silas and Ida (Benninger) Banwart, the seventh of ten children. He attended country school up to the eighth grade and graduated in 1950 from West Bend High School.
Frank served for four years in the United States Air Force, mostly at Davis Air Force base in Tucson, Arizona, with a short oversea tour in London, England. When he returned, he farmed the family farm for one year before deciding to attend Mankato State College in 1958.
On August 24, 1958, he married Darlene Hotek, in Bode, Iowa. They, subsequently, had four children: Brian, Patti, Lisa, and Thomas.
Frank took his first teaching job in 1961 at Walnut Grove, Minnesota, where he taught High School mathematics and coached junior high boys’ football and basketball. After teaching there for six years, he moved his family to Lake Mills in 1967 where he taught High School mathematics for twenty-six years. For twelve of those years, he served as the girls’ head track coach. An educator and coach to many, he was a friend to all that knew him. After thirty-two years in the classroom, he retired from teaching in 1993.
Frank also worked part-time for Franklin Life Insurance for several years as well as for Rain and Hail Insurance for thirty-five years, twenty of those years full time. He was a member of Salem Lutheran Church, the American Legion, ISEA, NEA, and CAPP.
An avid fan of the Lake Mills Bulldogs, the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Minnesota Twins, and the Minnesota Vikings, Frank also loved to fish, golf, hunt, and watch the eagle cam out of Decorah, Iowa.
Neighbors will remember Frank as the guy who used his tape measure to hang his Christmas lights as well as for his well-kept lawn.
Having celebrated his 80th birthday, he considered himself a lucky man to have had so much time with the family he loved dearly. He will be missed, but never forgotten.
He is survived by Darlene, his wife of fifty-four years, of Lake Mills; his two sons, Brian (Debra) Banwart, of Garner, Iowa, and Thomas (Vickie) Banwart, of Lake Mills, Iowa; a daughter Lisa (Thomas) Garringer, of Webster, Iowa; seven grandsons; two granddaughters; and three great grandchildren; four sisters, Berniece Banwart, of West Bend, Iowa, Betty Wirtz, also of West Bend, Iowa, Phyllis (Elmer) Strahm, of Sabetha, Kansas, and Caroline Banwart, of Peoria, Illinois; a brother Leslie (Kathy) Banwart, of Okoboji, Iowa; his sisters-in-law, Phyllis, Marilyn, and Becky Banwart, all of West Bend, Iowa, Arlene (Gene) Herrick, of Lehigh, Iowa, Betty Dutcher, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Vera Smith, of Mesa, Arizona; and a brother-in-law, Arlis (Liala) Kinseth, of Bode, Iowa; as well as by many nieces and nephews.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Silas and Ida Banwart; four brothers, Archie, Alvin, Victor, and James; and a daughter, Patti Renae.
Funeral services will be held at 1:30 PM on Monday, May 27, 2013, at Salem Lutheran Church in Lake Mills, Iowa, with Pastor David E. Jordon officiating. Burial will take place in Salem Memorial Cemetery with military honors conducted by the Otto/Chose Post #235.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, May 26, 2013, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at the Mittelstadt Funeral Home, 902 East Main Street, Lake Mills, and will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Monday.
In lieu of flowers, the family wishes to establish a Frank Banwart Memorial Fund to offer a one-time scholarship.
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