Herb French

Herbert Arthur French Jr., 77, a well-known La Crosse banker and civic leader, died Friday, July 16, 2021 following complications from a severe stroke at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse.

He was one of the millions of World War II and post-war babies born to parents battered by the Great Depression and then the biggest war in history.  His parents’ generation often did not have material things to hand down to their children, but steeled by adversity, they passed down even more valuable virtues -- like the importance of family, community, close friends and the dignity of hard work.

Herb learned those virtues and used them to fashion a career in business and community service while building a comfortable life for a family that meant more to him than anything in the world, his wife, Lorrayne, daughters Barbara and Leigh (Deron) Flynn and Leigh’s children Jackson Ray, Rayna Leigh and Salli Lorrayne Flynn, all of whom survive him.

His father, Herbert Sr., met his mother, Mildred Hinton, a college student, and daughter of an Oklahoma cotton farmer, while he was undergoing military training in Oklahoma in 1943.  He was trained as a crewman for Army Air Force bombers before he was sent into combat in China.  Herb was born in La Crosse May 20, 1944, while his father was at war.

After the war, because money was tight, his parents and baby Herb, known as “Butch” in the family, moved into his grandparents tiny three bedroom home a few doors north of old Hood Park on 5 ^th Street.  His grandparents, Albert and Ella French, became a second set of parents to him for several years.

Herb treasured memories of life in that modest house, like sitting in the kitchen listening to his grandma expound on life as she crafted exquisite meals, pies and cakes with her ancient wood-burning range.

He and his grandpa loved stinky limburger cheese, which his fastidious grandma would not allow in the house, so they kept a stash of it in a shed near the house, where they fell into deep conversation about baseball, football and sports heroes while indulging in their smelly treat.

His mother was an accountant, and his father was for a time a La Crosse Police patrolman before settling into retail sales positions.  They often splurged on toys for their only child, but they also imbued in him a strong work ethic, insisting that he work and earn his own spending money as soon as he was old enough.

They encouraged Herb to make friends and remain loyal to them, which he fell into easily.  He had friendships first made 70 years ago at Hamilton Grade School, and he collected more from years at Longfellow Junior High and Central High School (class of 1962).  It continued all his life, even with new friendships made with fellow residents and staffers at Hillview Homes, where he lived after suffering a debilitating stroke several years ago.

He first gazed longingly at the person who would become his closest friend in life in a sociology class at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Lorrayne Lenox, who grew up in a big farm family in Medary, however, would not notice him until a friend who knew Herb introduced them when Herb, a part-time bartender, served them at The Madrigal, a popular Third Street beer pub.

“He was quite charming with a bit of a wild side to him,” she said, remembering how he started slipping free beer to her to keep her talking as he worked. That was the beginning of what became a 56-year marriage, two daughters, a son-in-law and three adored grandchildren. They married March 20, 1965.

Herb relished being part of a big family, and Lorrayne’s parents, three brothers and two sisters welcomed him, and he embraced them.

“I believe he felt very much a part of it,” said Lorrayne. “He enjoyed hunting and fishing with my dad and my brothers, something he didn’t do with his own dad.”

He and Lorrayne soon had to go where the job opportunities were, leaving their hometown and families behind as Herb took a series of jobs over the next 16 years in the loan industry, first in Clinton, IA, then in Zion, IL, north of Chicago. Their daughter, Barbara, arrived in Clinton, their daughter, Leigh, arrived in Zion.

“We enjoyed our time in Clinton and Zion,” said Lorrayne, “but we both wanted to return to La Crosse. La Crosse was family, and we missed that.”

In 1981, they were able to return when Herb accepted an executive position with Coulee State Bank.  Back in the place he loved the most, Herb soon bought a home in Onalaska and became immersed in family and his work.  For a time, his face was on billboards around town advertising the Coulee Bank. His name began appearing frequently as a leader and member of prominent civic organizations:

President La Crosse Visitors and Convention Bureau; member of Riverfront Foundations and president of the Riverfront Board; La Crosse Chamber of Commerce Ambassador; Bethany St. Joseph Board of Directors; RSVP president/board of directors.

He worked in many other civic organizations whose causes he valued, showing the breadth of his interests:

The United Way, Gundersen Clinic Children’s Miracle Network, Central High School Alumni Association, UWL Quarterback Club, Coulee Region Bankers, the advisory boards of both the La Crosse Catbirds and La Crosse Bobcats, the committees organized to bring professional baseball to La Crosse and to keep the New Orleans Saints training camp in town, and both the La Crosse and Onalaska Citizens Police Academies.

He was immensely proud when he and Lorrayne were chosen to preside over the 1998 Riverfest celebration as Riverfest Commodore and First Mate, an honor granted annually to local couples in recognition for their contributions to the community and those in need.

His grandparents were gone, and his father died in 1998, so they did not see him singled out for the honor.  But his mother was filled with pride to see that the boy they called Butch had followed the paths they sent him on -- family bonds, the dignity and reward of hard work, the importance of friendship and community.  He used those things to make a life substance, meaning and purpose, and it did not go unnoticed.

Besides his wife, daughters, grandchildren and son-in-law, he is survived by survived by brothers-in-law Melvin and Robert (Linda Kime), sisters-in-law Mary (Lorin) Lewis, Sherry Kessler (Kevin) and sister-in-law Joan Lenox, uncle Wiley Hinton, treasured dog, Lady, and first playmate and boyhood pal since age 3, Bill Mullen.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his mother- and father-in-law, Lawrence and Doris Lenox, brother-in-law, Donald Lenox, his grandparents, and two aunts, Una Lee Hinton Watson and Peggy Hinton. Memorials are preferred to Riverfest Commodore Foundation or Coulee Region Humane Society.

A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, September 26, 2021 from 1-4 PM at the Onalaska American Legion, 731 Sand Lake Road.