Sterling "Rusty" Franzwa

Sterling Sebern “Rusty” Franzwa, age 86, formerly of Glidden, Iowa, passed away on September 8, 2019 in Basehor, KS, surrounded by his children.

Mass of the Christian burial will be celebrated at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, October 5, 2019 at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Glidden, IA, with Fr. Timothy Schott as Celebrant. Burial will be in the Merle Hay Memorial Cemetery near Glidden.

Friends may call the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Glidden after 5 P.M. on Friday where there will be a Christian wake service held at 6:30 P.M. The visitation will resume at St. Elizabeth Seton Church at 9:15 A.M. on Saturday until the time of the Mass.  Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Glidden and online condolences may be left for the family at www.dahnandwoodhouse.com

Born on February 9, 1933 in Glidden, Iowa, he was the son of Frederick and Mabel (Henderson) Franzwa. Rusty, as he was known at an early age due to his bright red hair, grew up in Glidden. His mother passed away when he was 8 years old and his father later married Jane Jacobsen who helped raise him and his sister Suzanne. He graduated from Glidden High School in 1951. He studied at Creighton University for two years and graduated from the University of Iowa in 1955.

Rusty made the decision to enlist in the United States Navy and proudly served from 1955-1959, where he trained as a pilot and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. He was stationed on the U.S.S. Randolph Aircraft Carrier and flew the Douglas AD-1 Skyraider airplane.

After his honorable discharge from the Navy, his plan was to move to Denver to fly commercial airplanes. Before he headed out west, he traveled to St. Louis to visit his brother Greg and while he was there, he met Anastasia “Stacy” Schramke while she was working at Mars-Enders Hardware store. They were married later that year on November 26, 1960 at the Old Cathedral in downtown St. Louis.

Rusty and Stacy settled down in Florissant, MO and started their family. They had three children: Frederick, Michael and Stephanie. In 1977, they moved their family to Glidden when they purchased Nelson’s Hardware and operated it as Franzwa Hardware until they retired in 2000. Rusty loved to travel with his family. Each summer, he and Stacy would plan a new route and hit the open road. They took their family to all but five states. He was a member of St. Elizabeth Seton Church.

Following the 2018 death of his beloved wife of 58 years, Rusty moved to Basehor, KS to live near his children.

Rusty is survived by his children: Frederick Franzwa (Sandra) of Shawnee, KS, Michael Franzwa (Fiance Laura O’Bannon and her children Chase and Cole) of Lenexa, KS, Stephanie Wright (Andrew) of Basehor, KS; four grandchildren: Michael Nelson of Anamosa, IA, Casey Franzwa of Lenexa, KS, Liberty Wright and Elijah Wright, both of Basehor, KS; Sister Candace Johnson (Charles) of Tucson, AZ; and Sister-in-Law Kathy Franzwa of Seattle, WA.

Rusty was preceded in death by his parents Frederick and Mabel Franzwa and Jane Franzwa; his mother and father-in-law Raymond and Margaret Schramke; two brothers: Frederick Franzwa and Gregory Franzwa; sister Suzanne (Franzwa) Cronk, and his grandson Sterling Franzwa.