John Clifford & Bernice Newkirk

NEWKIRK LEACH FRANKS

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 9/23/2010 at 17:03:00

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984
John Clifford and Bernice Jean Newkirk
By Jeraldine Baumgardner

John Clifford Newkirk was born in Mapleton, Iowa, August 2, 1924. His parents were Elsie Leach born 1900; and William W Newkirk, born about 1886 and died 1946. William worked for the railroad. William and Elsie are buried in Castana, Iowa.

John was baptized when the was two at the Christian Church in Mapleton. When John was thirteen, he quit school to go to work to help the family out. He got a job driving truck for Roy White. At fifteen, he quit and went to work for King Transfer in Onawa, Iowa. Being a truck driver, he ate a lot of his meals in cafes. In 1940 at the Revera Café in Onawa, he met Bernice Jean Franks. She was a waitress there. Bernice goes by ‘Jean’. Jean lived with her parents and two sisters. Her mother, Ellen Nettie (Johnson) Franks, was born August 27, 1903. Ellen is still alive and living in Elmwood Nursing Home in Onawa, Iowa. Her father was Paul F, died August 9, 1976, in Omaha, Nebraska. He is buried in Onawa, Iowa. Pau worked on the river and on the dams in South Dakota and North Dakota. Paul and Ellen had three daughters, in Turin, Iowa; Bernice Jean (Newkirk), May 27, 1928; and Paul Franks born March 15, 1932.

Three years after John met Jean, they were married September 16, 1943, in Onawa, Iowa. They made their home in Mapleton, Iowa. John got a job driving for Claud Price in Mapleton.

On May 27, 1944, Jean had a daughter, Jeraldine, with him sometimes to work. He would pick up livestock from the farmers and take them to the Sioux City Stock Yards. They would stop and get pop and potato chips. It was always fun to go with Dad.

May 10, 1948, another daughter was born; she was named Sharon.

John and a friend, Perl Decker, bought a truck together. John and Perl tried their trucking for a little over a year. But it was not working out, so they quit.

August 4, 1949, they had another daughter, Judy. Jean had Judy at home.

In 1950, John moved his family to Sioux City, Iowa. John got a job driving for Sioux City Motor. John was out of town a lot. Most of the children’s care was left up to Jean. John got a job for Monroe Welding so he would be home more. On May 31, 1953, Jean and John had a daughter, Patty.

When John worked for Monroe’s the men had a party once a month. In the summer they would have picnics at Browns Lake. They would all have a good time. Every year when the circus came to town, Mr Monroe would let the men use his box seats to take their families to see the circus. John worked for Barb Trucking, too. He was a hard working man, but found time for his family. He would take them fishing. In the winter they would pop popcorn and put puzzles together. Sometimes he would wrestle with his children. They have many good memories of their Dad. The last eight years, John worked for Yellow Trucking. John was a member of the Teamsters Union. John was always a healthy man until 1980, he cot cancer and had surgery. From then on he was visiting the doctor and had to quit work. In 1982, he went back in the hospital for cancer again. He died February 22, 1982, in St Lukes Hospital in Sioux City. He is buried in Onawa, Iowa. Jean lives in South Sioux City, Nebraska, with her daughter, Sharon Ott.