William E. Hanke

William Bill Hanke died on August 31, 2014, at his home in Rochester. Bill was born on June 8, 1920 in Whitehall, Wisconsin, to Oscar and Mary (Hauge) Hanke.Bill moved with his parents to Rochester when he was about 6 years old.He graduated from Rochester High School in 1939 and started school at Rochester Junior College.On December 28, 1940, he married Eleanor Kester, his wife of almost 74 years.Bill was transferred to inactive service just 7 days before the declaration of war. During the early war years Bill worked in the shipyards in Portland, Oregon.Then he re-enlisted in the Army and fought in France and Germany.After the war, he returned to Rochester taking up the vocation of carpentry building many homes and businesses in the Rochester area including the Miracle Mile.Bill worked for the Alvin E. Benike construction company from 1954 to 1969 during which he completed many projects for the Mayo Clinic and St. Marys Hospital.He was employed by St. Marys Hospital for the 11 years prior to his retiring as supervisor of construction in 1980. He was preceded in death by his parents, 3 brothers and 3 sisters and a son-in-law, David Grabau. He is survived by his wife, Eleanor, four children Barry (Diana) of Rochester, Linda Grabau of Racine, Minnesota, Paul (Donna) of Urbana, Illinois and Joan (Joseph) Lucas ofStewartville.There are eight grandchildren and twenty-one great-grandchildren. He had a great sense of humor and a funny saying for everything, loved being with his family, and had great fun playing golf and card games. The family is extremely grateful for the help from the staff of Homestead of Rochester, Home Instead staff, staff of Visiting Angels, the Wound Care Team on Gonda 4 South and from the Mayo Hospice team. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 6, 2014 at The Congregational Church United Church of Christ 974 Skyline Dr. SW Rochester, MN. with Reverend Dr. Teresa Roberts officiating. Visitation will be on Friday September 5, 2014 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Homes 5421 Royal Place NW Rochester and 1 hour prior to the service Saturday at the church.Burial will be in Grandview Memorial Gardens Cemetery at 1:00 pm on Saturday September 6, 2014 with military honors.