Frederick William "Fritz" Banker

BANKER, Frederick William ''Fritz'' Died Sunday at Berkeley Square Retirement Community in Hamilton. He was 80 years old. Mr. Banker was born in Hamilton to John P. and Annabelle Bland Banker. He attended the Stockton School in Fairfield and graduated from Hamilton High School in 1943. Upon his graduation, Mr. Banker entered the military. He served as a second lieutenant and B-25 pilot in the United States Army Air Corps until 1945. Mr. Banker attended Michigan State College while still in the air corps. In 1949, he received a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Cincinnati, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He later received a master's degree in school administration from Miami University and a business-management certificate from the University of Cincinnati. In 1949, Mr. Banker married Ann Weston. For the next five years, he taught physical education and coached basketball at Middletown High School. In 1955, he took a full-time sales position at Pease Woodworking Company, where he had, since high school, worked seasonally as a laborer and as a part-time salesman. Over the following 32 years, he rose through the ranks of the company to become the plant manager and a member of the company's board of directors. He retired in 1987. Mr. Banker was a lifelong resident and tireless booster of the city of Hamilton. He served as a member of Hamilton City Council for eight years; as a director and vice-chairman of Dollar Federal Savings Bank; as president and a member of the Rotary Club; as a member of the board of trustees of the YMCA; as president and a board member of Senior Citizens, Inc.; as president and a member of the Industrial Management Club; as chairman of the Butler County Cancer Crusade; as a member of the New London Hills Club board; and as a member of the board of trustees of Fort Hamilton-Hughes Hospital. He also served as a board member of Historic Hamilton and proudly spearheaded its revival of the farmers' market at the Butler County Courthouse. In addition to his civic activities, Mr. Banker enjoyed fishing and woodworking. His children grew up in the houses that he had built, and he furnished those houses with the things that he had made. He also shared with his children the values of thrift and hard work that he as a child of the Depression, had learned early. They learned from his example that any job worth doing is worth doing well. Mr. Banker was preceded in death by his parents; his mother-in-law, Lucille Roberts Weston; his older brother, John P. Banker, Jr.; and his sister, Martha Ann Benson. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Ann; his twin brother, Richard Bland Banker of Springfield, Illinois; his children, Frederick Richard Banker of Mountain View, California, and Marcia Ann Banker of Cincinnati; his daughter-in-law, Naomi Vargas Banker, and his son-in-law, Jeffrey S. Schloemer; and his grandchildren, Jennifer Ann, Aaron Russell, and Michael William Banker, Katharine Banker Schloemer, and Alexander and Nicholas Giles. Visitation will be from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, at Weigel Funeral Home, 980 N.W. Washington Boulevard, in Hamilton. A memorial service will follow. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be sent to The Berkeley Square Life Care Fund, 520 Eaton Avenue, Hamilton, Ohio 45013, or to The Presbyterian Church, 23 S. Front Street, Hamilton, Ohio 45013.

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Frederick William "Fritz" Banker

February 26, 2006