William Claire Talen (Sr.), 98

William Claire Talen, 98, chairman and CEO of Farmers Savings Bank & Trust, Traer and Vinton, died on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, at his home in Delray Beach, Florida, after a bout of pneumonia. A lifelong independent banker and an avid flyer, he was an irrepressible optimist who hoped to make it to 100, and very nearly did.

Talen was born to Claire Talen and Anne Minnema Talen on Dec. 28th, 1924, in Ogilvie, Minnesota. He attended Calvin College, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the fall of 1941. On Dec. 7, 1941, three weeks before his 18th birthday, the U.S. entered World War Two and he was soon called up, making him one of the youngest, and, eventually, one of the last, of the “Greatest Generation.”

He graduated from Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia and served as a First Lieutenant. While in Georgia he took his first flying lessons, sparking a love of flying which lasted his entire life. Talen shipped out to Japan just as the war was ending. He flew over decimated Hiroshima, and landed in Tokyo where he worked as Quartermaster in a bank during the occupation. Eager to keep flying, he volunteered as the radio operator for flights bringing funds and medicine to China.

After the war, Bud returned to Calvin College, majored in economics and was chief editor of the college yearbook, and a tenor in the college choir. There he met June Sieswerda of Chicago. After June graduated, they were married in Chicago on June 29th, 1949.

Bill and June had five children in the next ten years. He worked as an executive at several banks in South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. In 1973, Talen moved to Northfield, Minnesota. He purchased Farmers Savings Bank of Traer, Iowa the following year, later buying the Brenton Bank in Vinton, and merging the two banks in 2008. He also served on several committees and boards for community banking with the American Bankers Association. The Iowa Bankers Association recognized him in 2011 for 70 years of service to the banking industry.

He was recently awarded the prestigious Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, given by the FAA for fifty years of professional level flying without an accident. He was especially proud of piloting his small airplane across the Atlantic. He also enjoyed giving his customers at Traer and Vinton flights in his plane so they could see their farms and land from the air in the “Farm Flyovers” he held for many years.

He was a lifelong Rotarian, a proud veteran, an avid traveler, and a church leader in several congregations. Singing in the church choir and listening to organ music were lifelong pleasures. He supported various charitable organizations including the community foundations in Traer and Vinton. In recent years, his winter home in Delray Beach became his permanent residence. He remained Chairman of the Board of Talen Inc. and Farmers Savings Bank and Trust until the day he died.

Bill’s first wife, June, died in 1978. Three years later, Bill married Caroline Hall Lassiter of Roswell, GA, and became a beloved stepfather, grandfather, and great grandfather to her family. Caroline passed away in 2008, at age 84.

He is survived by his five children: William (Savitri) Talen, Deborah Talen, Julie Talen, Ruth (Paul) Erickson, and Mary June Talen (Joe Hawbaker) and ten grandchildren. He is also survived by a stepson, step grandchildren and step great grandchildren from his second marriage.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00PM, on Friday, May 5, 2023, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 500 W. Third Street, Northfield, MN 55057. Visitation will begin at 1:00PM and a reception will follow. Interment will be in Oaklawn Cemetery, Northfield.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Traer Community Foundation, 611 Second Street, P.O. Box 435,Traer, IA 50675 www.traer.com

Arrangements are with the Benson & Langehough Funeral Home. www.northfieldfuneral.com.