Ione Frank

Edith "Ione" Frank passed away peacefully early in the morning on May 22nd at Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka, Kansas after spending the prior day surrounded by her family.

Ione was born August 20, 1933, in Clay Center, Kansas, the youngest daughter of Oscar and Edith Wiberg. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Gerald E. Frank who passed in 1980; her sister LaVone Wiberg; her brother Stanley Wiberg, and her sister Phyllis Wiberg-Fatseas.

She is survived by her daughter Linda Hill and her husband Chuck; her daughter Lori Dorr and her husband Steve; her grandson Jeremy Hill, his wife Lorrie and their children Ethan and Jackson; her grandson Andrew Hill, his wife Jenna and their children Lucas and Haylee; her grandson Jared Dorr and Kayla Johnson; her granddaughter Jerilyn Clemence, her husband Jared and their daughter Charlee; and her granddaughter Stephanie Fajkus and her husband Tim.

Ione graduated from Clay Center High School with a diploma in 1950 and relocated to Topeka, Kansas in the same year. She went on to become a registered nurse with a degree from the Stormont Vail School of Nursing in 1953. Ione devoted 35 years of her career to being a ward nurse in the psychiatric ward at the Topeka State Hospital. Once she retired, she continued to provide care to those who needed it by working for the Hospice House in Topeka and then volunteering with the Stormont Vail Auxiliary. She was awarded Auxilian of the Year at Stormont Vail for her volunteer service with the hospital.

In 1955 she married Gerald E. Frank in Clay Center, Kansas. They established their home in Topeka where she resided until her passing. Her first daughter, Linda, was born in 1956 and her second daughter, Lori, was born in 1959. Ione was at Gerald's side when he passed away in 1980 after a long battle with cancer. Her first grandson, Jeremy, was born in 1982 and she would later add two additional grandsons, Andy and Jared, and two granddaughters, Stephanie and Jerilyn. In 2009, the first of her five great grandchildren joined her family.
All through her life Ione enjoyed traveling and seeing the country, primarily on road trips with her late husband and later, on bus tours with her friends. She particularly enjoyed her trips to Sweden and Norway to trace her family's roots. One of her passions in life was to share stories about her family origins with younger family members. Ione was a devoted member of Westminster Presbyterian Church throughout her life and loved nothing more than to bring members of her family to a service there.

Ione was a working mother who cared for her two daughters Linda and Lori. She would see both of her children married and start families providing love and support for them through all times, good and bad. Mom, as they both knew her, became both the last link to all the family that came before and the rock on which all the family that followed was built.

In her later life she was the devoted cornerstone of her growing family. In addition to her daughters Ione welcomed and made her own both of her son-in-law's Chuck and Steve. They were always willing to drop anything and come work on projects for Ione.
She was particularly devoted to her grandchildren and was a great source of strength and comfort for all of them. Through her constant presence at all events, from the most significant to simply visiting on the weekend to be a part of her grandchildren's lives she became widely admired by many of their friends. While during her life she would play many roles from nurse, to wife, to mother, her grandchildren would argue she found her best fit as a grandmother.

She would show the same warmth and love to the spouses of all her grand-children when they joined the family. Eventually Ione would go on to make her presence felt on third generation of descendants as her great-grandchildren arrived. Grandma always made sure that the grandchildren weren't being too hard on the great-grandchildren and her gentle reminders that they are just kids was sufficient to settle almost any issue in the children's favor.
Ione expressed her hope that she would be remembered for her love and devotion to her family. She will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by all her family and friends.

A visitation for family and friends will occur at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Topeka at 9:00 AM on Friday, May 26th to be immediately followed by a service at 10:00AM and interment at Mount Hope Cemetery. Memorial Contributions can be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, Helping Hands Humane Society, or The Stormont Vail Children's Miracle Network.