Anna Welker

Anna May Franks was born November 17, 1936 in Osceola, Iowa to Roy Earl Franks, Sr. and Mary Kathryn (Martin) Franks, and passed from this life May 20, 2026 at Winterset, Iowa.

Anna started school at the age of 4 attending country schools in Clarke County. Upon entering high school, Anna moved to Osceola to live with her grandparents, Harley Benjamin and Elizabeth Marie Martin as there were no buses to bring the country kids to town.

After graduating high school at the age of 17, Anna moved to Iowa City and worked for Children Services. She returned to Osceola and was married to James Dwaine Webb on June 28, 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri. They started their marriage at the Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina returning back to Clarke County in early 1956. Their marriage was blessed with two children, Kenneth Martin and Rebecca Anne.

Anna went to work in the early 60’s as an office assistant in the Farm Bureau office. While working there she built up quite a reputation writing a weekly column called “A Line From Anne” which was about the ups and downs of being a farm wife and raising two kids. In 1978 the farming community was doing well and she was able to retire to help out on the farm since both kids were grown and gone from home and no longer there to help. When farming crashed in 1980, she went back to work in Des Moines for a temp agency finally ending up working in the Des Moines school district as a secretary. After being there for a few years, she went to work at Principal Financial Group where she completed her working career and retired in the early 2000’s. She then worked part-time for Fons & Porter in their quilt shop, not because she needed too, but because she loved being there.

On October 24, 1993 Anna found love again and married Dwaine Dean Welker in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Over the years she was very active in the community being a Boy Scout Den Mother, doing a term on the Clarke Community School Board, volunteered with the Iowa Soybean Association, was on the Clarke County Reservoir Commission, and was a board member of SIRWA (Southern Iowa Rural Water Association) for a total of 20 years.

There wasn’t anything Anne couldn’t do. She did leather work making many billfolds, checkbook covers, purses and other things all given as gifts. She crocheted and knitted many afghans along with doilies over the years, also given as gifts. Her knitted Christmas Stockings became quite famous and expected in her extended family, always giving them as gifts. She made well over 100 in her lifetime. She made all of her clothes, Jim’s shirts and her children’s clothes until they started Jr. High. But her greatest love, later in life, was making and awarding Quilts of Valor to the veterans.

Preceding her in death are her parents, first husband Jim, son Kenny and second husband Dwaine, brother and sister-in-law Roy Earl Franks, Jr. & Dwan, sister-in-law Wilma & husband Larry Helms, brother-in-law John Webb & wife Betty, sister-in-law Lola & husband Everette Carson.

Surviving are daughter Becky and husband Kevin Rodgers of Williamstown, Missouri. Grandchildren, Jennifer Nicole & husband David Snead of Kahoka, Missouri, Jessica Reed, K. Eric Rodgers & wife Kristina of Williamstown, Missouri and Joshua James Webb of Indianola, Iowa. Great Grandchildren K. Blake, Jenna Kaye and Kamden Marcus Rodgers of Williamstown, Missouri and Makenna Diane Snead of Kahoka, Missouri, family by choice grand-daughter Jessica and husband Drew Sparks Goffinet, great-grandchildren Brady & Sophia Goffinet of Raymore, MO.

Services will be held at Kale Funeral Home - Osceola, Tuesday May 26, 2026 at 11:00 am with Pastor Marty Burgus officiating with the family greeting friends at a visitation one hour prior, 10:00 am to 11:00 am.

A live stream of the service will be available atwww.kalefuneralhome.comon Anna’s tribute wall beginning at 11:00 am, Tuesday. Interment will be in the Maple Hill Cemetery in Osceola.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Clarke County Historical Society or Ottawa Cemetery.

Online condolences may be directed to the family atwww.kalefuneralhome.com