02/15/2005
William “Bill” Gilford Franklin, 72, of Knoxville, former Maytag employee, died Feb. 15, 2005, at the Hospice of Pella Comfort House.
Memorial services will be held Saturday, April 2, 2005, at 1 p.m. at Coal Ridge Community Church near Knoxville. His body was cremated.
Garden Chapel Funeral Home in Pella is handling arrangements. Memorials will be accepted to the family or Hospice of Pella.
The son of Gilford and Fern (Anderson) Franklin, he was born Jan. 8, 1933, in Knoxville and was raised on the family farm. He attended the Knoxville school system until his graduation in 1951. On March 2, 1951, he married Marjorie Mae Bishop.
He worked for the Maytag Company for a brief time and then worked in carpentry and cabinetry and later construction. Throughout his construction career, he helped build the Lake Red Rock Dam and several bridges in Des Moines.
Mr. Franklin and his wife moved to Fulton, Mo., and then on to Bay City, Texas, in 1982, where they resided for 23 years. During his time in Texas, he helped in the construction of a nuclear power plant.
In 2002, they moved from their home in Texas and returned to the family farm in rural Knoxville.
He was a member of the Carpenters Local Union No. 106, the Masonic Lodge No. 61 and the Za Ga Zig Shrine, Isetta unit. He enjoyed attending Coal Ridge Church every Sunday, gardening, bird watching, playing with his dogs, amateur ham radio, CB radio and watching NASCAR races.
Survivors include his wife; his five children, Lovena Ann of Pella, Pamela Kay of Newton, Sandra Mae of St. Joseph, Mo., David William of Knoxville and Melinda Rae of Clinton, Mo.; 13 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; one brother; and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, a grandson,a sister, Mary Franklin, and a brother, Marion Franklin.
Newton Daily News, Thursday, March 24, 2005