Obit: Schoen, Franklin Joseph Sr. (1918 – 2008)
Contact: Crystal Wendt
Email: crystalwendt@aol.com

Surnames: Schoen, Pace, Resong, Utecht, Johnson, Willey, Richter, Neville, Hainz

Source: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood Co., Wis.) Saturday, April 5, 2008

Schoen, Franklin Joseph Sr. (23 May 1918 – 2 April 2008)

Franklin J. Schoen Sr.

NEILLSVILLE -- Franklin J. Schoen Sr., 89, of Neillsville died Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at the Memorial Medical Center in Neillsville.

A Mass of Christian burial will be at 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 7, 2008, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Neillsville. The Very Rev. Woodrow H. Pace will officiate. Providing music will be Ronald Resong, organist, and St. Mary's Choir. Burial will be in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery.

Visitation time will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Monday prior to the funeral.

The Gesche Funeral Home of Neillsville is assisting Franklin's family with arrangements.

Franklin Joseph Schoen was born May 23, 1918, in the town of Levis, the son of Henry and Wihelmina "Minnie" (Utecht) Schoen. Franklin served with honor and distinction in the U.S. Army from October 1941 through September 1945. During World War II, he was an anti-tank gun crewman and combat infantryman. He participated in combat and fought in the following battles: Ardennes -- a major battleground of World War II, Rhineland, Central Europe and the Aleutian Islands. He earned the following citations and awards: Combat Infantryman Badge, European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with three Bronze Battle Stars, Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon with one Bronze Battle Star, six overseas service bars and one service strip, and the Bronze Star.

Franklin married Lila Vivian Johnson on Sept. 18, 1948, in Wittenberg. He successfully operated a dairy farm at W4603 State Highway 73. He and his wife, Lila, lived at this location for more than 45 years. Franklin was a hunter, trapper and fisherman. He made more than 90 trips to Canada. In his retirement years, Franklin and Lila spent more than 20 winters near Mission, Texas.

He is survived by his wife, Lila of Neillsville; two daughters, Maurine (Richard) Willey of Pewaukee and Debra (Lowell) Richter of Granite Falls, Wash.; three sons, Franklin (Teresa) Schoen Jr. of Craig, Colo., Michael (Phyllis) Schoen of Neillsville and David (Francine) Schoen of Cheyenne, Wyo.; 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Frank is further survived by one brother, Edward (Grace) Schoen of Neillsville; and two sisters, Eleanor Neville and Lou Hainz, both of Neillsville; and numerous nieces, nephews and friends.

Frank was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers and two sisters.