Francis John Whittle, 78, of rural Elkader, passed away on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at Mayo Hospital, Rochester, Minn. Francis was born March 31, 1945, at home, on the Nieman farm, to Ambrose and Margaret (Holtz) Whittle. He attended country school for 3.5 years, St. Joseph’s Catholic School until 1958 and graduated from the Elkader Public School in 1962. In 1969, he finished four years at Upper Iowa College, Fayette. Francis served in the Army from Jan. 20, 1970, and was honorably discharged Sept. 24, 1971.