Frank+O'Bannon

An Indiana Hometown Hero

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Frank O’Bannon was a native of Corydon, Indiana where his family owned the Corydon Democrat newspaper. =====

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He played basketball when he attended Indiana University where he earned his B.A. in government in 1952 and graduated from the Indiana University School of Law in 1957. =====

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He was elected to Indiana State Senate in 1969 and eventually became the Senate Minority Leader. The State Senate seat he was elected to had been, in the past, held by his father. =====

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He was firmly established as an educational leader for the state. He helped lead development of Indiana's first community college system, pushed for early-childhood learning opportunities as well as the development of alternative high schools, and charter schools. =====

O'Bannon suffered a massive stroke on September 8, 2003, while he was in Chicago at the U.S. Midwest-Japan trade conference. He died on September 13, 2003. A memorial was erected in Corydon in 2008 to honor his memory. O'Bannon's wife Judy still resides in O'Bannon's hometown of Corydon and remains active in local politics as well as the //Corydon Democrat// newspaper.