Today we have created a CaringBridge destination to celebrate the life of our brother Eric.  We welcome all to add photos or fond memories of the times that we shared with Eric.  Just click on the "gallery", and well wishes part of this website.

Eric Danner was born the second child to Richard and Deloris (Walsvik) Danner on December 9, 1958 at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, WI.  He was a happy kid and full of energy.  While growing up, Eric was always there to help and loved to be outdoors.  He loved to snowmobile and entered many races on his "ski doo".  He was a boyscout and was loved by his teachers - always smiling and a good friend to all. Eric has four siblings, Ann Danner Dwyer - (Kevin Dwyer), Amy Davis - (Bob Davis), Karen Danner, and Andrew Danner (Mari Sanders Danner).  He cherished his nieces and nephews - Erin and Kieley Harrington, John and Patrick Dwyer and Cole and Grant Danner.

Eric attended the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater and from there he moved to Chicago and worked as a bank teller.  In 1987  he became very sick and was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease.  He was told that he had a 5% chance of surviving with a successful bone marrow transplant.  A miracle took place when our family gathered together to find out if and who would be a match for Eric.  Eric's sister Amy was a perfect marrow match and Eric survived.  The odds of finding a suitable donor in 1987 was a stunning 1 in 20,000.  Eric's doctor had an annual "Survivor" Celebration and Eric was one of the few that made it to the 25th Anniversary in 2013.  Against all odds, and Amy's selfless marrow transplant,  he made it and went back to his life.

Eric lived around Chicagoland since he had arrived after college and worked for a beverage distributing company as a union truck driver for many years. When asked what he did, he loved to tell everyone that he hauled whiskey! He went on to a few other jobs and was always the first to clock in.   Like everything that he did, he made sure that he was independent and self- supporting. He always seemed to have a new car that he was so very proud of.

He was the uncle who attended each and every ballgame, graduation, and party and he loved being with family.  He adored his nieces and nephews and was always there to pitch in and help - if there was a project to do, Eric was there to do the heavy lifting.  If there were leaves to rake, lawns to tend or items to move, Eric was always the fist to volunteer and then to celebrate a job well done with a meal.  He loved home cooking and family, and especially loved his many cousins.

And then, one day at work, he "fell" and broke his hip, but the surgery didn't seem to help.  The hip was put back together perfectly, but he couldn't seem to get well. It became more and more difficult for him to walk, get in and out of a car, and soon he was wheelchair bound.  After a myriad of tests, it was determined that Eric was to face another battle, this time with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig disease.  Why or how he got ALS is still unknown and we all found out that there is no cure for this horrible disease.

Eric once again fought the fight and showed up for parties, dinners, holidays, Cubs games, family reunions, 4th of July Parades, and any other event that he could manage to find a way to get transported to. NSSRA of Northern Illinois brought great joy to Eric through their compassionate and joyful programs.  We are also so grateful to Bayo who had a special van and transported Eric to these special events.  We also are thankful for Gina - who would help us take care of his special needs at the many places that we would go.

Eric has been so patiently cared for and we owe an enormous amount of gratitude to the loving people of Journey Care Hospice and his very special nurse Kate. He has also been surrounded by the most amazing team of health workers starting at Winchester House in Libertyville and then on to the new Thrive of Lake County- a brand new facility with the very special staff of Winchester House. Thank you to the Thrive Team who are too many to mention for your loving care.

We thank God for our brother Eric and the life that he has lived! We cry that it has ended far too soon.  He died in his Mother's arms at 4:58pm CST on February 16, 2021 at Thrive of Lake County in Mundelein, IL.