Obituary of Stephen Banks

Banks, Stephen Douglas, 74 of Darby, MT., died March 16, 2007 after a long illness. He passed away at home surrounded by his loving family. He was born Dec.10, 1932 in Albany, OR to Rev. Alan H. Banks and Mrs. Ruth T. Banks. He served in the United States Air Force as a Master Sgt. in Radio Security He married Patricia Lea Drew on May 14, 1954 in Eugene, OR. He left the military to work for IBM where he was a Customer Engineer and then became Operations Manager for South East Asia in 1968 in Tokyo, Japan. He was a branch manager for IBM in Honolulu, Anchorage, Tulsa, and Billings where after 36 years, retired to Darby, Mt. First and foremost, Jesus Christ was his Lord and Savoir, which set the example for his family to follow. Everywhere they lived they were involved in the local church and supported many missionaries all over the world. He and his wife loved to travel and he loved more than anything to spend time with his family. He was preceded in death by his parents Alan and Ruth Banks; his brothers Paul, Alan, and David Banks; one sister Margaret Banks; and his grandson Trevor L. Bredesen. His life is celebrated by his surviving family; His loving wife of 53 years Patricia; his children, Stephanie Bredesen and husband Steve Bredesen of Norman, Ok; Douglas Banks and wife Debra Banks of Darby, Mt.; Lori Banks of Darby, Mt.; 8 grandchildren Brad and wife Laura; Amy and husband Brett; Desiree and husband Travis; Caitlyn; Lindsy; Ashly; Whitney; Damon. 8 great-grandchildren Sabine; Mara; Alyssa; Braden; Emma; Rylee; Demri; Jaden; 4 sisters Alaire Fagerstrom; Nancy Johnson; Elizabeth Lunberg; and Sally Peterson all of Oregon. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 26th at Asbury United Methodist Church interment will be at Memorial Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials sent to the Alan and Ruth Banks Orphanage Uganda, East Africa, Show Mercy International, C/O Ravalli County Bank, P.O. Box 150, Hamilton, MT 59840. Ninde Woodland Chapel 918-728-8500.