Hon. Craig O. Froning

Hon. Craig O. Froning, age 90, long-time public servant, passed away Sunday, May 25, 2025 at UnityPoint Health – Allen Memorial in Waterloo. Funeral services with firefighter honor guard will be 2:00 PM Thursday, May 29, 2025 at the Eldora Fire Department. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the fire station. He will be laid to rest with full military honors at the Jackson Township Cemetery. Woodley Funeral Home of Iowa Falls is caring for Craig and his family.
Craig Owen Froning was born on May 13, 1935 in Liscomb, Iowa to Merle and Leona (Moulton) Froning. He graduated from Eldora High School with the class of 1953 and Ellsworth Community College in 1955, earning a degree in business administration.
Craig served in the United State Army from May 28, 1957 to May 27, 1960. He was a public servant at heart, serving as a judicial magistrate for Hardin County for a total of thirty-seven years. He cared for his community as a volunteer firefighter with the Eldora Fire Department for fifty-nine years, using the radio number 42-252 for most of that time.
Craig was active with the Union Golf Course, was an avid bowler and sponsored a bowling league for many years. He was a member of the American Legion and Owasa Church.
On November 9, 2002 Craig was united in marriage to Kay Albers Williams at the Owasa United Methodist Church, where he was an active member. The couple enjoyed life together immensely until Kay's passing in 2020.
Craig O. Froning is survived by his step-daughter, Sue Thomey of Seabrook, Texas. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Bruce Froning.