Jeffrey Banke

Jeffrey B. "Jeff" Banke, age 53 of Sauk Centre, passed away unexpectedly Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at his home in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 22 at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in Sauk Centre with Rev. James Statz officiating. Interment will follow in Calvary Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and 8 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Sauk Centre.

Jeffrey Brooks Banke was born April 11, 1957 in St. Cloud, Minnesota to William and Gladys (Armstrong) Banke. Jeff was raised in Alexandria and received an Associate's Degree in law enforcement from Alexandria Technical College in 1977. He was married to Katherine Egan Brake at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in Sauk Centre on November 21, 1981. Jeff was employed by United Telephone for 12 years and Stearns Electric for the past 20 years.Jeff was a member of Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church and the Sauk Centre Township Planning Board.He enjoyed hunting and fishing, golfing, camping, and gardening. Jeff had an awesome memory and a knack for telling jokes and stories. He truly enjoyed life and he was very proud of his children. Some of the things he loved most were spending time with his family and going to the farm in Brandon.

Survivors include his wife, Kathy Banke of Sauk Centre; children, Aaron Banke of Minneapolis and Shonna Banke of Denver, Colorado; mother, Gladys Banke of Alexandria; brother, William "Rick" (Jan) Banke of Alexandria; sister, Carol Meiners of Eden Prairie; mother-in-law, Lucille Egan of Sauk Centre; brothers-in-law, LeRoy Egan of Sauk Centre and John (Bernice) Egan of Sauk Centre; sisters-in-law, Sue (Steve) Peterson of Sauk Centre, Mary Egan of Sauk Centre, and Lisa (Dave) Otte of Sauk Centre; and nieces and nephew, Meghan, Mitchell, Ally, Dawn, Darcy, Amberly, Ashley, Andy, Lindsey, Brent, Grant, Ali, and Seth.

He was preceded in death by his father, William Banke in 1989; father-in-law, Wallace Egan; and brothers-in-law, Raymond Egan and Edmund Egan.

Serving as casketbearers will be John Esbjornsson, Jerry Middendorf, Wayne Craig, Tim Weir, Chris Karsten, and Marc Lundeen. Cross bearer will be Mitchell Banke and scripture bearer will be Ali Peterson. Honorary bearers will be the Employees of Stearns Electric.

In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred.Jeff will be greatly missed by his family and friends.