John Tolly Banks was born February 20, 1945 to Merrill and Camilla (Haskins) Banks in Lincoln, Nebraska. He grew up in Stella, Nebraska and graduated from Stella High School in 1963. John attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and then joined the United States Air Force in March of 1965.
During his service John was stationed in Thailand as an aircraft navigation equipment repairman. After his honorable discharge in October 1968 he returned to Nebraska and graduated from Peru State College.
John worked for the Nebraska State Department of Unemployment in Nebraska City. He also coached at Peru State College, Pawnee City High School, and Falls City Sacred Heart. John ended his working career at Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville, Nebraska.
John had served on the Stella Village Board, was an active member of the Shubert American Legion Post #222, and a lifelong member of the Stella Community Church.
An outdoors type, John was an avid golfer, hunter and fisherman. He worked as a volunteer marshall at the Bob Hope Golf Classic and watched his idols play. He loved to go to Minnesota to fish and he loved to hunt deer with a bow and arrow. John’s true joy was football, following college and professional teams. Fortunately, he was able to watch the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl.
For many years John was afflicted with pulmonary fibrosis. He moved to Colonial Acres in Humboldt, Nebraska in December of 2019 when he could no longer stay at his home in Stella. It was at Colonial Acres, on Friday, February 7, 2020, he passed away just 13 days short of his 75th birthday.
He was preceded in death by his parents and sister-in-law Carlie Banks.
John is survived by his brother Stephen of Plano, TX; sisters and brothers-in-law Catherine and Jim Donahoe of Stella; Christina and Jerry Joy of Stella; nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and -nieces; and many friends.
