The Corydon Democrat

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Plans for a memorial to honor three generations of O'Bannons, along with a significant funding donation, was announced yesterday morning on the Corydon town square.

"I think this is a wonderful ... a symbol of something bigger," said Judy O'Bannon, whose late husband and 47th governor of Indiana, Frank O'Bannon, will be part of the memorial for his service to the community as well as the state. Also featured will be Frank's father, Robert P. O'Bannon, and grandfather, Lewis O'Bannon, both whom have political backgrounds and ties to Corydon.

	Raymond Graf's sketch of the O'Bannon memorial.

The former First Lady said she wants the memorial to convey to others that everyone "comes with something to offer."

Leah Porter, chair of the memorial planning committee, introduced Raymond Graf, the sculptor for the project. The Louisville resident was selected from about a dozen persons who inquired about the project.

"I didn't know Frank," Graf said after the announcement, but he said he looks forward to working with the committee to complete a project that will "have something that will work for everybody" involved in the project and its visitors.

The memorial will be located in the southwest corner of the town square.

"It looks like a great site," Graf said.

The 49-year-old Graf earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts in 1986 from Murray State University in Kentucky. He has done several life-size bronze works, including one of National Baseball Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese, Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Hornung and former Kentucky Gov. Bert Combs. Currently, Graf is working on a sculpture of Col. Harland Sanders, and he hopes to market a bust of Abraham Lincoln that he did as a personal project.

Graf's proposal for the O'Bannon project includes a 40-foot-square concrete pad with benches. On one bench will be seated a full-size bronze figure of the former governor. Three limestone columns will pay tribute to the three generations of O'Bannons.

Frank O'Bannon, who died in 2003 at the age of 73, served 18 years at a state senator then two terms as lieutenant governor before he was elected governor. He was in his second term as governor when he suffered a stroke and died five days later. His father, Robert (1898-1987), was a former state senator, and his grandfather, Lew (1864-1943), was the 1924 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor and a member of the first Indiana Historical Commission. During their lives, all three were publishers of this newspaper, which Lew O'Bannon purchased in 1907.

Porter said the group wanted a "comfortable, beautiful remembrance" of her uncle, Frank O'Bannon.

She referred to him as "the epitome of a businessman and lawyer with integrity, a hometown friend, a skillful lawmaker and a devoted family man.

"And, as they were for others in the community, his father and grandfather were role models he looked up to," she said. "So, it's more than fitting that they are a part of this memorial."

The Harrison County Community Foundation is making an initial gift of $50,000, announced Steve Gilliland, the Foundation's executive director. Additionally, the Foundation will match up to $75,000 from other donors to the memorial fund.

But that's not all the news Gilliland shared. In addition to the initial gift and matching effort, the Foundation will also match all gifts up to $25,000 per household to an endowment created to provide perpetual maintenance for the memorial.

"This is the really fun part of my job," Gilliland said in making the announcement.

Judy O'Bannon called the day "a special moment for each and every one of us," and she looks forward to the finished project.

'I want people to sit on this bench with (Frank) and think about what they can do," she said.

The total budget for the memorial project is $200,000. Donations to the O'Bannon Memorial Fund and the Frank O'Bannon Memorial Preservation Fund for ongoing maintenance are tax deductible.

Judy O'Bannon said the community has one more mountain to climb: to raise the funds for the project.

"I know all of you will help us get there," she said.

Anyone wishing to make a contribution to the memorial effort or the endowment for maintenance can be sent to:

O'Bannon Memorial, in care of Main Street Corydon, 310 N. Elm St., Corydon, IN 47112, or the Frank O'Bannon Memorial Preservation Fund, in care of Harrison County Community Foundation, P.O. Box 279, Corydon, IN 47112.