Caleb Dean Banks

Caleb Dean Banks, 11, was a beautiful gift from God to his family. Caleb was the son of Casey and Rachel (Baltic) Banks, he was born on April 7, 2006 in Mansfield, OH. The Lord, in his mercy, called Caleb home on Thursday, May 18, 2017.

God created Caleb with amazing energy, a desire to learn, and a deep imagination. These characteristics were evident in his love for nature, music, airplanes, and history. He was known to spend hours barefoot outdoors hunting in the woods of Michigan. Caleb's study of birds and animals often found audience with his younger siblings and his parents. Music captured Caleb at a young age and he was drawn to play the piano and learn guitar. His voice could be heard singing hymns and folk songs throughout the day. The oldest of six, Caleb showed love in many ways to his family. He was eager to help his mother and father, ready to comfort his younger siblings and could be found reading Bible stories to them at night before bed. Caleb enjoyed visiting Grandpa and Grandma Banks on the farm and Grandma and Grandpa Baltic "out at the house". Caleb will be greatly missed by his many cousins and friends that were instrumental in bringing him joy. Caleb's sudden departure has left many of us heart broken, but our hope is in the eternal reunion in the clouds with Christ our Lord. (1 Thess. 4:17-18)

Left behind to cherish Caleb's memory are his parents, Casey and Rachel Banks formerly of Byron Center, MI; brothers and sister, Luke, Silas, Karina, Raymond Jr. and Vincent; paternal grandparents, Larry and Nancy Banks of Mt. Gilead; maternal grandparents, Daniel and Betty Baltic of West Salem, OH; great-great grandparent, Mitchell Baltic; a great aunt, Nettie Baltic of West Salem, OH; aunts and uncles, Jennifer and Jonathan Curry of Lexington, Emily and Larry Leonhard of Mt. Gilead, Summer and Travis Banks of Paulding, OH, Stephanie and Ted Luginbuhl of Marshallville, OH, Denise Baltic of Akron, Amy and Milan Baltic of Smithville, Shelly and Tom Baltic of Chippewa, Danny Baltic of Sterling, Lynn and Matt Baltic of West Salem, Trisha and Aaron Baltic of Wadsworth, Audrey and Corbin Schlatter of Plain City, Elaine and Tom Hill of Rittman, Angie and Emil Baltic of Clearwater, FL, Grace and Steven Baltic of Grantham, NH, Katrina and Brian Demrovsky of Medina, and Minnie and Alan Manz of Paulding; forty seven first cousins; many great aunts and uncles; and an abundance of friends.

He is preceded in death by his great-great grandparents, Richard and Mabel Banks, Raymond and Elizabeth Bush, Violet Baltic, and George and Minnie Riggenbach.

The family will welcome friends from 1:00-3:00 p.m. and 5:00-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at the Ontario Home of Wappner Funeral Directors, 100 S. Lexington-Springmill Rd. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at the Apostolic Christian Church, 84 N. Illinois Ave. with an hour of additional visitation from 10:00-11:00 am. Caleb will be laid to rest at Mansfield Memorial Park.