Frances "Franny" Lois Byrnes

Frances “Franny” L. Byrnes, 91, of Waukon, IA, passed away peacefully into the arms of Jesus at the Good Sarmatian Society in Waukon on Monday, July 27, 2026, with family around her. Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 8th, at 11:00 AM at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. Ben Valentine officiating. Burial will be at St. Patrick Cemetery Hanover, rural Waukon. Friends may greet the family from 10:00 AM until time of services at the church on Saturday. Martin – Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is assisting the family with arrangements.

Frances Lois Peterson Kelly Byrnes was born the youngest of six children on August 6, 1934, in Decorah, IA, the daughter of Albert and Hattie (Dinger) Peterson. Franny graduated from Decorah High School. In school, Franny was quite the roller-skater, spending hours at the rink, and even made homemade root beer at the drive-in where she worked. After graduating from high school, she married Clinton Vernon Kelly on June 12, 1954; they had three daughters: twins Annette and Jenette, and Dawn Rae. They traveled with Vernon while he was in the Air Force. On Mother’s Day of 1959, a boating accident took the life of Vernon, leaving Franny alone to raise her three small daughters, and they moved to Decorah to be closer to her sister.

Franny's best friend encouraged her to go to the Bright Spot in DeSoto, WI, one evening on a weekend. Here she met Bill Byrnes from Waukon, IA. He instantly fell in love with her and the three girls. Bill owned Byrnes TV, later was known as Byrnes TV and Satellite, in Waukon with his brother Frank. Bill and Franny were married on December 1, 1962, and Bill always said he married four beautiful girls.

Franny loved baking and sharing her baked goods with the neighbors and friends. She also enjoyed dancing, playing cards, reading, fishing, working in her garden, crossword puzzles, mushroom hunting, and traveling to Branson, MO. She took many airplane trips with Bill as the pilot. One of her favorite plane trips was to California with the girls in the backseat, Bill as the pilot, and she was his co-pilot.

Franny was a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church. She was very involved with the Knights of Columbus, helping Bill throughout the years, along with the VFW in Waukon. Franny and Bill were also involved in supporting the Archdiocese of Dubuque with new priests. She was a homemaker until her daughters left home and then worked as a daycare provider and for the Waukon school system. In 2020, Franny and Bill both went into the Good Samaritan Society in Waukon, as his dementia was developing fast, and she decided to go with him; being apart was not an option for her.

Survivors include her three daughters: Annette (Tom) Haas of Iowa City, IA, Jenette (Keith) Schulte of Dorchester, IA, and Dawn (Don) Blocker of Waukon; eight grandchildren: Brooke Haas of Madison, WI, Beth Rotter of St. Louis, MO, Matt Haas of Milwaukee, WI, Allison Kouba of Reedsburg, WI, Ashley Kozfkay of Grand Rapids, MI, Erin Rixen of Lincoln, NE, Adam Schulte of Dorchester, and Evan Schulte of Tiffin, IA; 12 great-grandchildren; her sisters and brothers-in-law: Frank and Mary Byrnes, Charlie and Ann Byrnes, and Jeanne and Don Weidner; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husbands Vernon Kelly and Bill Byrnes; three sisters and brothers-in-law: Marjorie and Irvin Tieskoetter, Arlene and Bob Hanson, and Eunice and Jake Dillman; two brothers and sisters-in-law: Leo and Della Peterson and Armond and Marylou Poli; and an infant sister,

Casketbearers are her sons-in-law Don Blocker, Keith Schulte, Tom Haas, and her grandsons Adam and Evan Schulte and Matt Haas.

To know Franny, was to love Franny. A tiny person with a big heart of gold.