Obit: Bannack, Lorraine (1916 - 2014)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
 
Surnames: Bannack, Konczal, Strzelewicz, Plewa, Allen

----Source: Thorp Courier (Thorp, Clark Co., WI) 1/21/2015

Bannack, Lorraine (3 June 1916 - 27 December 2014)

Lorraine Bannach celebrated her 108th birthday on June 3, 2014. On the 27th of December, she passed away peacefully in her sleep at Oakbrook Care Center in Oakbrook, IL, and was laid to rest at St. Adalbert Cemetery in Niles, IL.

Lorraine was born in Lublin, WI, and was the oldest surviving daughter of Ignastz and Pearl (Konczal) Strzelewicz. Her father, who died at age 42, was a chairman for the Town of Roosevelt. Lorraine worked on the farm and only went as far as third grade in school. She taught herself to read and write in English and Polish with her mother’s help. At age 18, she moved to Chicago and worked at a Polish restaurant, and had a job at Western Electric.

Lorraine married Barney (Bennie) Bannach on January 2, 1936, and they lived in Round Lake, IL. Barney was a Round lake police officer and also worked as a gravel truck driver. He passed away in 1958 and Lorraine never remarried. They had no children, only a dog named Tubby.

Besides driving to Lublin and Thorp, she loved to travel and visited all but nine states in North America., plus Holland, Canada and Poland. She was on a bowling league and loved to go dancing. Her passions were playing cards, sewing, crocheting, writing letters, and being a very good cook.

She lived in Chicago until 2004, when she moved into Riverwalk Senior Apartments in Lyons, IL. She was a very independent woman up until the age of 107. Several proclamations were made on hoe behalf from the Village of Lyons: celebration of her 100th birthday in 2006; and on June 3, 2011, at the age of 105, it was ‘Lorraine Bannach Day.’ She received numerous salutations on reaching centennial status from the President and First Lady, Illinois Governor, and several Illinois State Senators and representatives.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her sisters (who both died at age 90): Lillian and Martha (the late Frank) Plewa; her brother, Joseph; and two other sisters who died at an early age of Diphtheria; also, her beloved nephew, Eugene Plewa.

She will be dearly missed by her nephew, Daniel (Patricia) Plewa of Thorp, WI; her nephew Eugene’s wife, Jean Plewa of IL; her great-nephew, Mark (Peggy) Plewa of MI; her great-nieces: Donna (Tim) Allen of TX, and Carol Plewa of IL; a great-great-nephew, Anthony Allen of OK; a great-great-niece, Jacqueline Allen of TX; and relatives of the Barney Bannach Family.