Francis Matney

Francis Leon Matney, 75, of Gilman passed away December 22, 2015 while visiting his son in Louisiana, with his wife Rosemary by his side. Visitation will be held January 4th at 1:00 p.m. prior to the 2:00 p.m. funeral service being held at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home. There will be a time for fellowship following the service with pastries and coffee till 5:00p.m. Memorials may be directed to the family. Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Fran and his family and may be contacted at 641-844-1234. Francis Matney was born February 25, 1940 to Charles and Nellie (Wall) Matney in Iowa City. He was the 12th of 13 children, and is survived by 3 of his sisters. He grew up and spent most of his life living in Gilman. Fran had an 8th grade education, but was very proud of the fact that he later earned his GED. He was united in marriage to Madeline (Albers) April 17, 1958. Trucking was Frans employment in his early years. He was a member of the Teamsters and also a group he called The Bull Haulers. Following his trucking years, he worked establishing rental properties and refurbishing homes in the area. He spent 17 years as a courier for Citizens Savings Bank, retiring in October 2014. Fran loved to mow and did so for many years, taking pride in each new mower. He enjoyed his children and even more so, his grandchildren and the experiences he was able to share with them all. On August 15, 2015 Fran married Rosemary (Davis, Weaver). He greatly enjoyed her companionship and love as well as being a part of her family. Left to cherish his memory are his wife: Rosemary, his children: Julie (Mark) Bjelland, Doug Matney, Barb (Court) Hembree, Becky (Mike) Strawn, Laura (Chris) Kuesel, and three step-children: Scott (Sheila) Weaver, Angie (Scott) Raue, Robin (Dan) Isaacson and 26 grand children and 14 great-grandchildren. And his loving dog, CJ. Fran was preceded in death by his parents, 6 brothers, 3 sisters, his wife, Madeline, and Granddaughter, Jill.