FRANK F. BONK

Frank F. Bonk, age 89, of Manitowoc, died Tuesday, June 1, 2004, at his
residence.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 5, 2004, at Holy
Innocents Catholic Church, Manitowoc. Officiating at the Mass of Christian
Burial will be the Rev. Gerald Foley with burial of the cremated remains to
follow at Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc.
He was born Oct. 4, 1914, in Manitowoc, son of the late Martin and Josephine
Norkosky Bonk. Frank attended St. Mary Grade School, Southside Junior High and
Lincoln High School, graduating in 1934. He lettered in football and track. He
was involved in all sports from 1932 until 1966. He started and operated as
sole owner of the city semi-pro football team known as the Manitowoc Galloping
Gaels from 1938 to 1966. This later became known as The Braves and then The
Chiefs. He served as football commissioner of the Central States Football League
and Wisconsin State Football League. In 1967, he organized a minor league
professional football league in Columbus, Ohio, including all the states east of
the Mississippi River. On Oct. 15, 1938, he married the former Dorothy Steffen at
St. Mary Catholic Church, Manitowoc. He was inducted into the Central States
League Hall of Fame in 1966. He was the first athlete inducted into the Lakeshore
Sports Hall of Fame in April 1977. In 1988, he was inducted into the National
American Football Association Minor Pro Hall of Fame in Chicago, III. He also
has been included in the Congressional Records in Washington, D.C., for his
accomplishments in sports in 1989. Frank retired from the White House Milk A & P
in April 1977 from the maintenance engineering department. He had been a union
steward for six years. He was a member of Holy Innocents Catholic Church,
Manitowoc.
Survivors include his wife; Dorothy Bonk, Manitowoc; two daughters and a son-in-law,
Judith Hermann and Jayne and Charles Thompson; a son and daughter-in-law, James and
Mary Jo Bonk, all of Manitowoc; 10 grandchildren; Jeffrey, Jonathon, Jeremy Hermann;
Joylynn Norton; Bruce, Jamie, Troy and April Bonk; Joedy and Joshua Thompson; eight
great-grandsons, a great-granddaughter, and two sisters and a brother-in-law, Lorrayne
Tadych and Marcella and Bernard Powell, all of Manitowoc.
He was also preceded in death by an infant daughter: Pamela; an infant son; and
five brothers: Chester, Adolph, Ben, George and Emil Bonk.
The family will greet relatives and friends at Holy Innocents Catholic Church,
Manitowoc, from 9 a.m. Saturday until the time of service at 10 a.m.
Memorials made to Holy Innocents Catholic Church would be appreciated.
The Pfeffer Funeral Home & Cremation Care Center, Manitowoc, is assisting the
family with funeral arrangements.
Herald Times Reporter, June 3, 2004