A Lime Springs farm boy, Francis Pisney, is honored for his community service by the community which he serves, Iowa Falls.
Francis, son of Frank and Cora Pisney and brother of Gene and Raymond, grew up on the state line road, went to school in Lime Springs and probably the rural school in their area, and graduated from Crestwood. From there it was the University of Iowa and its medical school!
Earlier, his folks lived on the farm adjacent to the bridge at Foreston, only about a mile-and-a-half from my home. Our parents were both “young married couples” at about the same time and were lifelong friends.
Dr. Pisney has been serving the Iowa Falls community for years. I have learned from people who are from Iowa Falls and winter in Texas that Francis brought the game of rugby to the area and is a great evangelist for the sport. By doing a little sleuthing on Google, I learned that he spearheaded a campaign to purchase land to host rugby and other games.
Here’s the picture on Facebook which initiated this article; thank you, Facebook!
By looking at the sign, my guess is that he has done a lot more in the community than just promote rugby!
I was looking forward to seeing Francis yesterday (July 4) in Iowa Falls. They were hosting a fly-in breakfast and as one event in their July 4th celebration. I was planning to fly over and provide airplane rides for my employer, Iowa Flight Training. Unfortunately, the weather here in Cedar Rapids was overcast at a few hundred feet all day long so I stayed home.
Last August, at Sweet Corn Days, I had a brief chat with Francis. That was the first time I’d seen him for many decades.
Last evening, while looking at Facebook, I discovered what I had missed: the community was honoring one of Lime Springs’ own, Dr. Francis Pisney!
Congratulations, Francis, and thank you for helping your adopted community.