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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
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Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Mikeal Franks
Age: 95
City: Anamosa
Funeral Date
1 p.m. Thursday, March 29, Oakland Church of the Nazarene, Cedar Rapids
Funeral Home
Goettsch Funeral Home, Anamosa
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Mikeal Franks
MIKEAL VERNON FRANKS
Anamosa
Mikeal Vernon Franks, 95, of Anamosa, died Sunday, March 25, 2018, at Woodlands Park, Anamosa. Funeral services are at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 29, at Oakland Church of the Nazarene, Cedar Rapids. Burial will be in Springville Cemetery, Springville, Iowa. The family will greet friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, at Goettsch Funeral Home, Anamosa, and again at the church Thursday from 12:30 p.m. to the time of service.
Mikeal was born July 6, 1922, in Colesburg, Iowa, the son of Mikael and Margaret (Shappell) Franks. He went to school in Elkport, Iowa. He served his country in the Marine Corps during World War II. Later he used the GI bill to attend Upper Iowa University in Fayette.
He married Whitney Dodd on Dec. 31, 1952, in Los Angeles. She died in 1974. He later married Dorothy Hills on April 23, 1994. She died in 2016. He worked in a variety of occupations during his life. He was a professional photographer in Fayette and a machine repairman at Wilson Meat Packing in Cedar Rapids. He worked for Gaines Gravel operating a dump truck and later worked as the mail room supervisor at Stamat's Publishing Co. in Cedar Rapids. In 1987, he retired and started working as a delivery driver for an RV company in Elkhart, Ind.
He was a private pilot who loved flying and owned his own aircraft. He loved photography, and drove the bus for the Oakland Church of the Nazarene. He enjoyed traveling. He was a simple man who loved spending time with people, especially his grandchildren, whom he spoiled!
He is survived by his children, Daniel (Deb), Republic, Mo., Kitty (Marcus) Anamosa, Jerry, Cedar Rapids, Tim (Elaina), Naples, Fla., John (Sarah) Redding, Pa., Steve, Cedar Rapids, Laura, Cedar Rapids, and Rachel, Olathe, Kan., 21 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; a brother, Chester (Darlene), Hawkeye; and a sister Margaret Louise Hare, Downers Grove, Ill.
In addition to his wives, he was preceded in death by a son, Mikeal; a daughter and son-in-law, Emily and Larry Sherman; and his brothers, Donald, Chuck and John.
Memorials may be directed to the American Heart Association.
"I hope that when I go, I leave behind people who are better off for knowing me."