Cliff Buchan
News Editor

A World War II veteran and the last surviving member of a large and well-known Forest Lake family has died.

Michel (Mike) Daninger, 89, who spent most of his life in Forest Lake before retiring to Scandia, died Monday, March 6. He was the last of the 15 children born to Stephanie and Frank Daninger.

The Frank Daninger family worked the farm south of Forest Lake on Granada Avenue N. starting in 1905 and purchased the farm in 1945. The 200-acre dairy farm is owned and worked stoday by Mike Daningerís son, Pat.

Mike Daninger was born on Oct. 25, 1916 and attended the nearby Garen School through the eighth grade while working for his parents on the farm.

He was 26 when military service called during World War II. He joined the Army Air Corps in January of 1942 shortly after the United States entered the war.

Daninger trained as a mechanic on B24 bombers. He spent more than two years in the India and China theater. He was sent home in the spring of 1945 following the death of his father in Forest Lake.

Mike and Florence Daninger farmed on the home place until 1994 when the operation was turned over to their son. Mike Daninger continued to help on the farm in the years following his retirement.

He was part of the contingent of World War II veterans to receive special recognition during the 2005 American Legion Post 225 Independence Day parade in Forest Lake. Daninger was a charter member of VFW Post 4210 in Forest Lake and the Fr. Gibbonís Knights of Columbus chapter here.

Funeral details

A Mass of Resurrection for Mike Daninger will take place at 10:30 a.m. today (Thursday) at St. Peterís Catholic Church, 1250 South Shore Drive.

Visitation is planned 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, March 8 and one hour prior to the Mass on Thursday at Roberts-Eckert Funeral Home, 555 Centennial Drive.

Interment will take place at Calvary Cemetery, Forest Lake.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Florence; sons Dominic (Diane) Daninger, Patrick (Sharlene), and Michael; daughters Bernadette (Jim) Lukenbill, Margaret (John) Winkle, and Catherine (Dan) Kaiser; grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, eight brothers and six sisters and numerous World War II service buddies.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Human Life Alliance or Pro-Life Action Ministries.

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Forest Lake Times
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880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
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