Submitted by: Nadine A. Hardin

Elmer J. Danch (Dec. 12, 1913 - Dec. 26, 2012)
SOUTH BEND - Elmer Joseph Danch, 99, passed away after a brief illness at 5:05 pm in Dujare House at Holy Cross Village. Born to Hungarian immigrants who located in South Bend, Elmer was the eldest child of Michael A. Danch Sr. and Therese (Nagy) Danch both of whom are deceased.

On September 1, 1937 at St. Patrick's Church in South Bend, Elmer married Angela M. Hertel, a coworker he met while employed at the South Bend News Times. The couple enjoyed 65 wonderful years of marriage before Angela passed away on January 2, 2003. During their marriage, Elmer and Angela adopted three children who continue to live in the Michiana area. They are Mary Sparks (Jeff), David Danch and Michael Danch (Conie). Additional survivors include grandchildren, Laura Weaver (Mark), Lisa Brammer (Michael), Elizabeth Badics (Rick), Sara Martinez (Louis), Ellen Emery (Michael), Stephen Danch, Thomas Sparks, and Mary Angela Sparks; two step-grandchildren, Michael Frank (Christina) and Brian Frank; twenty great-grandchildren, one step-grandchild and one great-great-grandchild. Also surviving are Elmer's sisters, Elsie Horvath and Evelyn Szucs, both of South Bend. Two brothers, Alfred and Michael preceded Elmer in death.

A journalist at heart and one who loved sports, Danch began his career while still in high school (age 15) writing sports for the South Bend News Times. He remained with the paper after his high school graduation (he was a member of Riley High School's first graduation class in 1931) until the paper closed in 1938. Working assignments included covering Notre Dame football and Coach Knute Rockne along with high school basketball games played by South Bend Central under Coach John Wooden. Danch stayed in the newspaper business as a reporter for the South Bend Tribune, leaving around 1949 to become Studebaker's supervisor of publications, a job that included being the editor of the company newspaper and also working in the advertising department. After Studebaker closed in 1965, Elmer was named director of advertising and public relations at Da-Lite Screen Co. in Warsaw, Indiana, a post he held until he retired in 1985. During much of his working career and even into some of his retirement years, Danch had been a freelance writer/stringer for the Catholic Diocesan newspaper "Our Sunday Visitor" now known as Today's Catholic. This part of his love affair with journalism lasted some 62 years.

A sample of his community involvement includes his work with the Knights of Columbus and the Sierra Club, holding lifetime membership in both organizations. He is a past Grand Knight of Santa Maria Council 553 and was a member of the Fourth Degree of the Father J. A. Nieuwland Assembly. For 16 years he served as President of the Inter City Catholic League which oversees the Catholic grade school athletic programs in our area. A huge Notre Dame fan, Elmer enjoyed his many years working in the Notre Dame Press Box for home football games as well as traveling to see the Irish play on the road. A member of St. Matthew Cathedral parish in South Bend since 1950, Elmer has been on the Parish Council, been part of the usher program, and served as a lector at Mass and other services.

Our family would like to thank the Holy Cross Brothers, the staff, healthcare providers and residents of Dujare House and the doctors and nurses at St. Joseph Medical Center, all of whom befriended our dad and took care of him. Memorial contributions may be made to the Bishop Joseph R. Crowley Education Fund at St. Matthew Cathedral, 1701 Miami St., South Bend, IN 46613 or to the building fund at St. Joseph High School, 453 Notre Dame Ave., South Bend, IN 46617. A memorial Mass and burial service for Elmer J. Danch will be held at a later date. To send condolences to the family log on to: www.McGannHay.com.

Published in South Bend Tribune on December 30, 2012