Frank Berkley Kaderka, 84

Frank Berkley Kaderka passed away on Mother’s Day, May 11, 2025, after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 84. Frank owned Norm’s Downtown Auto Body in Coeur d’Alene for over 25 years. He was born in Cicero, Ill., to Gertrude “Betty” Kleve and was later adopted by Frank Kaderka Sr.  

Frank Jr. became a true Iowa boy, raised on a farm by his mother and new stepfather, Chris Christensen, in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. Frank's high school yearbook is filled with pictures of an active, young Frank on the football and basketball teams, performing in choir and drama, and serving on the prom and yearbook committees. 

Frank moved out to Los Angeles in the early 1960s and learned the art of painting cars. After a brief marriage to Barbara, Frank soon found the love of his life, the former Suzanne Bodo, while bartending at a dance hall. Suzanne had two little kids at the time — little did Frank know that he would soon become stepfather to Lisa and Eric Kincel for the rest of his life. Frank and Suzanne married in Las Vegas in 1973 and they eventually settled in San Clemente, Calif.

On one of their many road trips, Frank and Suzanne instantly fell in love with Coeur d’Alene in 1991, where they quickly made their new home. Frank bought Norm’s Auto Body in 1996 while Suzanne was the director of the Downtown Association. The development of Downtown Coeur d’Alene became their life’s work. Together, the Kaderkas worked to build Car d’Lane, the Street Fair, the Christmas Lighting Ceremony Parade, Fred Murphy Days, the Taste of the Coeur d’Alenes and much more. When Suzanne passed away in 2017, Frank was without his life partner. He continued to man the desk at the body shop and could tell you stories about all the people who have come and gone from the area like a local.  

Frank treasured his grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He will be missed by his new friends at North Star Retirement and the Downtown Eagles. So many friends have visited Frank in the last years and days of his life; he was truly blessed. And the stories they tell!

Frank is preceded in death by his wife, Suzanne Kaderka; his mother, Gertrude Kleve; his adopted father, Frank Kaderka Sr; his stepfather, Chris Christensen; and his brother, Bruce (Sherri) Kaderka of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Frank is survived by his stepchildren, Lisa (James) Lyon and Eric (Brittany) Kincel; his grandchildren: Katharine (Dylan) Johnson of Post Falls, Elizabeth (Aaron) Heslip of Tacoma, Wash., Andrew Johnson of Washington, D.C., Dana Blackwell of Juneau, Alaska, and Raymond (Gwen) Lyon of Brooklyn, N.Y.; his brother, Robert (Marsha) Bornhorst of Iowa; and his sister, Kathy (Denny) Mathewson of Iowa. His three “fresh grandchildren,” Oliver, Evelyn and Elijah, always brought a smile to his face and a laugh to his heart.

Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, May 30, 2025, at Yates Funeral Home — Coeur d’Alene Chapel, 744 N. Fourth St. Coeur d’Alene. A reception will immediately follow the service at the Eagles Ballroom, 209 Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene. The public is welcome to both events, and be prepared, stories will be told.

Please visit Frank’s online memorial and sign his guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.