John Michael Franke

The love of my life left this world to be in heaven with his Dad, Mom and both sisters.

John Michael Franke, born February 20, 1956 in Madison, WI, passed away on Monday, March 8, 2021 after a long illness.

He graduated in Fond du Lac in 1974. In 1979 John moved to Appleton where his family lived at that time. John loved playing the Drums starting at an early age. He signed up with a talent agency, with many different bands; they played and traveled all over the Midwest. Once his band played back-up for “Prince” in Minnesota. And another time with his band the Snowbilly’s played back-up for “Trisha Yearwood” and “A sleep at the wheel” in Waterloo, WI.

John met the love of his life in 1980. Linda went with him to all his gigs. John proposed to Linda in 1986 at the Purple Porpoise in Orlando Florida. We married in 1987 on July 4th (he said he would never forget that date).

He owned many motorcycles, especially his Goldwing with a side car that his dad gave him when he passed. He did many rides with his dad, uncles and cousins, as well as many couple’s rides.

John had a love of boats when he was young he had a small fishing boat in Monona, WI. His uncle Walter was the commander of the yacht club in Monona, WI. He loved sharing his time with his Uncle. That’s where his love of boating came in. We had 2 boats –first the attitude-adjustment, fitting after a long day at work. The second was the Sweet Spot. We loved boating on the lakes of Madison, together with friends and family.

In 2002 John and I owned and ran our bar called Franke’s Bar and Grill in Stetsonville, WI. We sold it in 2006 and moved back to Appleton.

John retired in 2018. He loved his R.V. and going to Christmas Mountain in the Dells area. We enjoyed many camping trips to Christmas Mountain.

John is survived by his wife, Linda and Luna Kitty; many sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, cousins, nieces and nephews.  He is further survived by his son, Eric John, 2 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, as well as many friends and band mates.

John is preceded in death by his parents, Paul & Marilyn Franke; sisters Paula & Patricia; father-in-law and mother-in-law John & Shirley Ingalls; sister-in-law, Pam; brother-in-law, Larry; and many aunts and uncles and grandparents.

John and I wish we could have more time together. But the time we did share was nothing but perfect to me. Love you to the moon and back, Linda.

A Celebration of Life will be at the American Legion, 3220 W Collage Ave. Sunday, March 21, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In Lieu of Flowers, a memorial fund will be established to help with funeral costs.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John Michael Franke, please visit our floral store.