LAWRENCEVILLE, Ill.—Reports out of Lawrenceville last night are that long-time businessman Frank Ladner is deceased.
Reports indicate that the 87-year-old had been in hospice at Good Samaritan in Vincennes, and died there on Saturday, November 8.
He had been in failing health for a number of years, and in just the past two years, members of his family had been at odds with him over the amount of money from his estate that had gone to various projects in and around Lawrenceville. In particular, his daughter Julia was distressed because of the amount of money his bank had loaned to the city of Lawrenceville for two projects: water works, and a downtown parking garage to offset parking on the square that was taken up by employees of Golden Rule Insurance, one of the companies that made “Uncle Frank” a lot of money. The totals were in the millions, and apparently the daughter was trying to gain control of the estate out of fear that there would be nothing left if her generous father were to continue to ‘loan’ or ‘grant’ it out to various entities/persons.
The entire thing was outlined in a September 2012 article on the front page of that issue, which you can read at this link.
Ladner’s funeral is scheduled for Thursday.
