Gay J. Bannister, 86, of Atlantic, Iowa, passed away November 22, 2020, at Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic.
Gay was born November 28, 1933, in Audubon County, Iowa, to Arnold Carl and Anna Madelene (Hansen) Christensen. She grew up in Audubon, attended school in Audubon and graduated from the Audubon High School in 1953. Gay moved to Atlantic and to Manning before moving to Lewis where she raised her family. She then moved back to Atlantic in 1978, and in 2016, she moved to the Heritage House.
She was married to Robert Bannister on February 6, 1956. They were later divorced.
Gay worked as a bookkeeper after high school. She also worked at the Atlantic Wholesale Grocery Company, Federal Crop Insurance Corp in Atlantic and for CDS in Harlan doing data entry. Gay retired in 1998.
She was a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Audubon where she was baptized and confirmed.
Gay was a loving mother who devoted her life to her daughters. She loved going to bingo in Exira, Anita and Atlantic with her girlfriends. She also enjoyed playing cards.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Arnold and Anna Christensen; a sister, Arlene Christensen; a brother, Glee and his wife Elaine; a grandson, Jared Cook; special cousins, Barney (Betty) Christensen and LaVerla (Don) Stolpher; and a niece, Donna Jacobsen.
Gay is survived by four daughters, Tami (Louie) Aquirre of Arlington, TX, Shelly (Tom) Schwenneker of Atlantic, IA, Angie (Donnie) Cook of Atlantic, IA, and Jane (Andy) Kidder of Council Bluffs, IA; grandchildren, Josh (Tawnya) Larsen of Audubon, Jess (Colin) Talbot, Jordan (Sydney) Larsen, Jodi Barton and Donald all of Fort Worth, Texas, Dalton Cook (Jordan), Mariah Cook and Derek Cook (Kennedy) all of Atlantic, Elizabeth Kidder and Jordan Kidder all of Council Bluffs; great-grandchildren, Leah and Sam Larsen of Harlan, Evan, Ayva and Brayton Larsen of Audubon, and Sophia Barton and Charlotte Barton of Arlington, TX, and Cora Cook from Atlantic; nieces, Marletta (Ted) McKercher and Patty (Steve) Battershell; nephews, Don (Nancy) Christensen, Paul (Julie) Christensen and Kent (Sue) Christensen; and a few cousins.
Open visitation will be from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m., Friday, November 27, 2020, at Hockenberry Family Care in Atlantic.
Private graveside services will be held at Arlington Heights Cemetery in Audubon, Iowa.
Memorials may be left to family’s wishes to be designated at a later date.
Hockenberry Family Care in Atlantic, Iowa, is in charge of the arrangements.
