David "Dave" Frantzen

May 3, 1954 - January 23, 2022

David (“Dave”) Frantzen, 67, passed away peacefully at his home in Bonfield, Illinois after a valiant battle with non-hodgkins lymphoma on Sunday, January 23. Dave was born in Chicago on May 3, 1954, the youngest child of George and Irene Frantzen. He was a life-long lover of music starting with his own rock band in high school, playing guitar and drums. He was also an avid tennis player in school. He was the quintessential handy man, always curious about how everything worked. He loved electrical work and took classes to learn about working on small engines. He was also a master carpenter, renovating numerous homes and building beautiful cabinetry and furniture. He was known to take things apart and put them back together just to see how they worked. About 35 years ago, this city boy moved to Bonfield, Illinois to help his mother, and he took care of her during her final illness. He embraced the country life and embarked on learning everything he could about farming. When his beloved Farmall tractor needed a repair, he consulted books and joined online forums to learn how to fix it. Dave prioritized helping not just the people he knew, but also the people he did not know. He volunteered his time at the ACOM Merchant Street Food Pantry including doing electrical upgrading and repairs. He created the sound system for his church. When he went on vacation or even to the doctor’s office and saw something that needed fixing, he did it, oftentimes on the spot. He volunteered his time for clean-up and rebuilding on several hurricane relief missions, including the Back Bay Mission to Biloxi, MS. He served as a counselor and a handyman at a youth summer camp on a yearly basis. And could he tell a joke! He excelled in them, and some were funny. He was known to research “doctor” jokes or “dentist” jokes before he had an office visit. Though he endured many challenging hospital stays starting at Christmas time, he never lost his sense of humor and always endeared himself to medical personnel by being thankful and genuinely curious about who they were as people. But his true and most noble calling was being a wonderful and loving life partner of 14 years to his wife Sue who he married on October 30, 2021 and “Papa” to their their two granddaughters, Savannah and Madison Long, from the time they were tiny girls into their now teenaged years. He subjected the girls to not just his corny jokes and deliberately off-pitch singing, but also his help on the mundane tasks like homework as well as loving guidance on the larger life lessons. In addition to his wife Sue and their granddaughters Savannah and Madison, Dave is survived by a brother Tony (Helene) and his aunt Florence Ippolito, two stepsons, Richard and Tim Long, and grandsons Christian Long, Noah Long and Christopher Schkerke as well as numerous cousins, including the ones he considered “sisters,” Karen Seimetz, Melinda (Don) Deye and Therese (Brian) Tucker. Dave is preceded in death by his parents, George and Irene Frantzen and a sister, Annette Flood. Visitation will be at St. John United Church of Christ, 1045 W. River Street in Kankakee on Thursday, January 27 from 9:00 am until 11:00 am with services to follow immediately thereafter. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Dave’s name may be made to ACOM Street Merchant Food Pantry in Kankakee or Pilgrim Park Camp (https://pilgrimpark.campbraingiving.com/). Also, to honor his memory, tell a joke, help someone out or otherwise be kind to try to replace the loss of Dave’s loving and generous spirit.