March 28, 1930-April 24, 2026

Fred A. Banning was born in Des Moines, Iowa, to Joseph Lester and Pauline Doyle Banning, the fifth of six children.

His dad passed away before the sixth child was born. A few years later, his mom married again and gave birth to three more sons.

When Fred was 15 years old, the family moved to Fort Worth where Fred attended Polytechnic High School.

At age 17, he joined the U.S. Army and was deployed to Alaska to help build roads and bridges for the Air Force bases there.

After 18 months of serving, he was honorably discharged and returned to Fort Worth. He had self-taught himself to play the mandolin and guitar and was readily asked to join a country western band.

During this time, he married a youthful girl and became the father of two boys, but unfortunately that marriage dissolved before the second son was born.

When Billy Graham was in a crusade in Fort Worth in 1951, Fred attended and gave his heart and soul to Jesus.

Knowing playing in the country band was not in God’s will, he went to work at Temco Aircraft factory and met a couple that was attending Bible Baptist Seminary who encouraged him to attend classes with them so he could be educated in Biblical knowledge, and while he did, he started using his musical talent to sing with other students at the jail and street preaching.

Soon after the couple [Lonnie and Charline Johnson] who were his mentors, introduced him to the younger sister of Charline, he started attending Calvary Baptist Church where their family were members, and so, after a short courtship, he and La Juana Davis [the younger sister] were married on June 6, 1953.

In the first 10 years of marriage, they became parents to four children and one of the sons from his first marriage came to live with them and after being employed by several aircraft related companies and many layoffs, Fred started working for Texas Instruments for the next 20 years.

Their five children had married and had their own families and Fred and LaJuana decided to move from the Dallas area, bought property and started building their forever home in Canton, so the last 5-6 years before retirement, the two spent their weekends building the home, and upon retirement, they moved to Canton where they lived for the next 38 years.

In 2021, because of health issues, they were advised to sell their beloved home and move to Boerne, Texas, next door to their daughter, Kathy, and husband, Jim Morse.

Fred passed peacefully at his home April 24, 2026, after a long debilitating illness.

He is preceded in death by his parents, his sisters, Betty Klissares, Pat Willeford, and Helen Fenoglio; his brothers, Joe, and Neal Banning and his half-brothers Tony, Barry, and Gary Jostandt; and two sons, Allen and Ricky Banning.

He is survived by his wife, La Juana of almost 73 years of marriage; his son, Leo Banning; daughters Renee Woods, Becky Harrison; and Kathy and husband, Jim Morse; a foster daughter, Sherrie and husband, Mark Stanley; his beloved 19 grandchildren and 51 sweet great grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life will be held on June 13, 2026, at 11 a.m. at Lakeside Baptist Church, 1291 Old Kaufman Road., Canton, Texas 75103.