Frank O'Bannon - Death and Legacy

Death and Legacy

O'Bannon suffered a massive stroke on September 8, 2003, while he was in Chicago, Illinois attending the U.S. Midwest–Japan trade conference. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he remained unconscious.

On September 10, 2003, the Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, B. Patrick Bauer (D-South Bend), and the President Pro Tem of the Indiana Senate, Robert D. Garton (R-Columbus), sent official notice to the Indiana Supreme Court noting that Governor O'Bannon was incapacitated and unable to fulfill the duties of his office. As such, the court approved naming Lieutenant Governor Joe Kernan as Acting Governor.

Days later, O'Bannon's condition worsened and based on his living will, his family decided to use no further means of support and care. He died on September 13, 2003, aged 73, leaving behind his wife Judy (Asmus), three children (Polly, Jennifer and Jonathan) and five grandchildren. O'Bannon donated organs (after having signed legislation making organ donation easier in Indiana), including his cornea which helped an Illinois woman regain her sight. He was cremated and buried in the O'Bannon family plot at Cedar Hill Cemetery in his hometown of Corydon, Indiana.

He was succeeded in office by Lieutenant Governor Joe Kernan of South Bend, who was sworn into office just hours after O'Bannon's death in an emotional ceremony.

O'Bannon is the subject of the 2006 biography Legacy of a Governor: The Life of Indiana's Frank O'Bannon. The book, written by former O'Bannon staffer Andrew E. Stoner, contains a foreword by his wife, Judy O'Bannon. The book was published by Rooftop Publishing, Inc. of Bloomington, Indiana.

In February 2006, a memorial bust of O'Bannon was placed outside the Indiana Statehouse Senate chambers.

The Frank O'Bannon Public Service Award is given annually by Ivy Tech Community College. The 2007 winner was former State Senator Wayne Townsend of Hartford City, the Democratic candidate for governor in 1984.

In June 2008 a memorial was created in honor of Frank O'Bannon next to the state's original capitol building in his hometown of Corydon. The memorial was built at a cost of $200,000, collected from private donations, and features a life-size statue of O'Bannon sitting on a park bench. Frank O'Bannon Elementary School located in Hammond, Indiana is named after him, as was a section of highway in southern Indiana. The O'Bannon Woods State Park in Harrison County is also named for the O'Bannon family.

Judy O'Bannon resides in her husband's hometown of Corydon, Indiana, and remains active in Corydon Democratic politics and in her husband's newspaper The Corydon Democrat. She endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential race, and often toured with Bill Clinton throughout the state during the 2008 Democratic primary campaign. During the general election she backed Barack Obama for President. She was the vice chair for Jim Schellinger's unsuccessful campaign for governor. She is currently giving her time to many non-profit organizations, as well as hosting a statewide public television program, "Communities Building Community."