Franklin Seekins Bodenner was born on January 31, 1925 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was the son of Ralph and Constance (Seekins) Bodenner. He was Baptized at East Lincoln Church, the church where he was a lifetime member . He attended the East Lincoln School and then graduated from Amery High School. On October 21, 1951 he was united in marriage to Emily Johnson and together they had five children. Frank and Emily made their home in rural Amery where they farmed for many years. Frank was the fourth generation on the Seekins Family Farm. He was a trustee and deacon at East Lincoln Church and spent many hours volunteering at the church. He also served on the cemetery board for many years. Frank was also the historian of the family keeping all those family stories alive for the coming generations to come. They had several foster children over the years and always had an open door to someone needing a place to stay. When Frank was no longer farming he took a job and worked at Jerome Foods for twelve years. After retiring they were able to travel, often to visit family members who were living around the world. Frank has battled declining health, but with the help of family and hospice he was able to remain at home where he passed away on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at the age of 87 years.
He was preceded in death by his parents, and brothers Lawrence Seekins, Leonard Seekins and Ralph Bodenner. Left to mourn are his son Tom (Lori) Bodenner; daughters: P. Jo Kiel (Jeff), Teresa Brannon (Robert), Lori Koehlar (Jack) and Lanni Meagher (Erin); eleven grandchildren: Leta, Sarah, Renae, Jeremiah, Lukas, Nicole, Emily, Megan, Garrett, Rilee and Elli; great grandchildren: Malachi, Celia, Isaiah and Amber; brother George Bodenner, foster kids Bob, Edith, and Denise and other relatives and many friends.


Funeral services will be held on Friday, September 14, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at the East Lincoln Alliance Church in rural Amery. There will be a visitation time at the Williamson-White Funeral Home in Amery on Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. and for the hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be at the East Lincoln Cemetery.