Charlie and Nancy Banker

After 69 years of marriage, Ronald “Charlie” Charles and Nancy Ann Banker passed away on September 1, 2025 within 16 hours of each other. They were both 92. Charlie, born in Racine, and Nancy, born in Wausau, married in 1955 and raised their children in Appleton.

Both graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Early in their married life, Charlie was finishing law school while Nancy taught elementary school in Madison. Charlie practiced law briefly in Superior after he and Nancy married. They moved to Appleton in 1962 when Charlie started the new trust department at Appleton State Bank (later known as Valley Bank and now BMO). Upon retiring, he was vice president of the trust division there.

Nancy raised their three children and ran the family home while doing charitable works in the community. She was a member of the P.E.O., Lawyers Wives, and did Meals on Wheels delivery. In the ‘80s, she stepped back into the classroom as a substitute teacher in the Appleton Area School District.

Charlie and Nancy were avid curlers and belonged to the Appleton Curling Club for thirty-plus years. Both played on teams that won the state championships, and Charlie served a term as curling club president. Charlie loved to golf, play the banjo, and race cars, which took him and Nancy to road courses all over the country. Nancy enjoyed crafts such as knitting, sewing, and needlework. She also liked to read and take walks around the neighborhood.

Charlie and Nancy are survived by their three children: Scott (Samantha) Banker of Appleton; Ted (Gloria) Banker of Knoxville, TN; Suzanne (Dennis) Kroner of Appleton; and six grandchildren: Morgan, Wes (Lauren), and Tommy Banker; Carrie and Olivia Kroner; and Mac Banker.

They were preceded in death by Wayne Banker (Charlie’s brother) and Bobby and Charles Brushert (Nancy’s brothers).

Per both Charlie and Nancy’s request, there will be no formal services. Their family plans to celebrate their lives privately. Those who wish to celebrate them may do so by honoring Charlie’s memory with a toast of scotch or Nancy’s by sharing a cup of coffee or a martini with a friend.