John C Franzen

John C. Franzen of Decorah, Iowa, died Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, at age 72.

The Celebration Service will be at noon on Monday, February 17, 2025, at Helms Funeral Home, 306 E. Water Street, Decorah, IA 52101 with Pastor Peter Kowitz presiding. Burial will be in the St. Luke Catholic Cemetery, St. Lucas, Iowa in the spring.

Visitation will be from 11:00 a.m. until the time of the service at the funeral home.

Memorials in John's name are encouraged for The Humane Society of Northeast Iowa, WinnMed Hospice, or the Decorah Public Library History Book Club.

He was born to John “Jack” and Ruth (Freligh) Franzen on January 30, 1953, in Waterloo, and grew up on his father’s family farm near St. Lucas, along with his four younger siblings. An academically gifted child, he attended Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, Wis., before graduating in 1971 from Turkey Valley High School in Jackson Junction, Iowa. He excelled in speech and debate and was awarded a National Merit Scholarship to attend Michigan State University.  He enrolled at the University of Chicago and later attended the University of Nebraska and the University of Iowa, where he studied philosophy.

Unfortunately, John struggled with debilitating health issues throughout his adult life, which held him back from what seemed to be a promising career in academia. In 2006 John moved to Decorah, where he could nurture his need for intellectual discourse, through his associations with the Luther College community and Decorah Public Library history book club–a group of individuals who gave him much-needed inspiration, especially during the final months of his illness.

John is survived by two brothers: Steve (Marylynn) Franzen and James (Roxane) Franzen; a sister: Sue (Jack) Drilling; eight nieces and nephews: Steven T. Franzen, Lisa (Mike) Knieriem, Bradley Franzen, Derek Franzen, Deidre Franzen, Christina (Mike) Nienhuis, John (LeeAnn) Drilling, and Suzy (Troy) Buzynski; and thirteen grandnieces and nephews: Zoey Franzen (Sean Larson), Tyler (Molly) Knieriem, Ashlyn Knieriem, Braylon Nienhuis, Dane Nienhuis, Annaleigh Shileny, Breydon Drilling, Corbin Drilling, Izzy Drilling, Evie Drilling, Aubrey Drilling, June Cousin, and Nell Cousin; and many cousins and dear friends, including his high school classmates Sam Adams and Steve Lynch and his former guardian and adopted sister, Mae (Tom) Schmitt.

John was predeceased by his father in 1992 and mother in 2020; stepfather Vince Lensing in 2019; and youngest brother Rick Franzen and sister-in-law Jackie (Hoyt) Franzen in 1988.

John’s family extends heartfelt thanks to the medical staff at WinnMed Medical Center, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Gundersen La Crosse, WinnMed Hospice, and Wellington and Aase Haugen nursing homes for their dedicated and compassionate care for John.