Obituary of Danny Kenneth Tanner

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Danny Kenneth Tanner, on Feb. 6, 2025. Danny died suddenly and unexpectedly on his homestead in Duluth Township. He was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, August 2, 1949, and after much moving around in his childhood, landed in Duluth as a teenager and decided he wanted to stay here. Danny met and married his first wife, Mary Ellen Wales, while attending the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he graduated with dual majors in Biology and Chemistry. With 4 great kids to support, Danny began a long career at the US Environmental Protection Agency in Duluth shortly after graduation, working first as an environmental chemist in Ely, Minnesota. He later returned to graduate school at Bemidji State University for a master’s in fisheries ecology, working on showing how insecticides could change lake food webs in such a way as to starve larval and juvenile fish. Danny thrived on his many years of fieldwork, sampling fish in wetlands and streams for the EPA. This is how he met his second wife, Valerie, when she joined his research team as a postdoctoral fellow. Danny and the team strove to understand stream and wetland ecosystems, hoping to learn how we can maintain a strong fishery so that Danny and the other anglers would always have great fish to catch. Danny retired from the EPA in 2005 after a 30+ year career.

Danny had many passions and hobbies about which he could talk to you for hours. Being a West Duluth boy, Danny loved polka and was a very energetic polka dancer. He loved it so much that he was learning to play the accordion. What he was truly skilled at was woodworking, building most of the buildings on his farmstead, amazing kitchen cabinets, his own fairly large telescope, and beautiful furniture. As a farmer and organic gardener, Danny learned to grow giant pumpkins here in northern Minnesota and once grew two over 600 lbs; he dreamed of growing a 1000 pounder for the Boo at the Zoo event. An avid angler and fly tyer, Danny fished local rivers and lakes, and also loved salmon fishing in Alaska and learning to catch bonefish in Mexico. His love of fish was so great that he searched high and low for salt and pepper shakers that looked like realistic freshwater fish, collecting over 450 sets (nope, Danny didn’t obsess over his hobbies).

Danny loved to be outdoors and was forever stalking big bucks. He had one buck registered with Pope and Young but mostly enjoyed just being in the woods watching the chickadees land on his arrows. No one who got to go along will ever forget a Boundary Waters trip with him, and he loved to help new folks experience the specialty of the BWCA. Danny transitioned from competition weightlifting, in which he won several trophies, to competition cycling and Nordic skiing, making it into the Birchleggings club with 23 Birkie finishes. He also coached Nordic skiing for Marshall High School, teaching his students strong technique so they wouldn’t finish DFL. For a weightlifter, Danny did surprisingly well in endurance sports, finishing a Grandma’s Marathon and both running and organizing the Bangin’ in the Brush Trail Run at Korkki Nordic Ski Center for several years. Korkki Nordic, near his home, was one of his favorite places to ski. He assisted with trail maintenance and also built and tended wood duck boxes in the pond. If you ski there, look for Tanner’s Hole (where he buried a grooming machine in a creek) and Danny’s Duck Pond. After retirement, Danny returned to golfing, leading his Redcaps team to win the league championship several times.

In addition to all of that, Danny continued his service to his community and science. He served on the Duluth Township Town Board for a couple of terms and was appointed by the governor to serve as an advisor to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, a position he held until his death.

What his family and friends will remember and miss most of all were his big, kind heart, amazing smile, ability to chat up anyone (apologies to all the UPS and FedEx drivers who had their schedules upended in our driveway), and all the stories he could tell. You just enjoyed being in his presence. Danny lived an active and full life, and lived it up to the last minute. He had many plans for the future, for his homestead and the new trees he planned to grow. He wasn’t ready to give up despite a heart that just couldn’t quite keep up with his brain. His passing leaves a hole in many hearts and leaves the world a little dimmer.

Danny was preceded in death by his mother Marilyn Rose Grabosky Oppel, father Thomas Joseph Harris, stepfather Ralph Tanner, brothers Terry and David Tanner, daughter Julie Ann Tanner Fischer and several nieces and nephews. He is survived by wife Valerie Brady, daughters Holly Tanner and Michelle (Andy) Mariska, son Dan (Stephanie) Tanner, son-in-law Chris (Kelly) Fischer, brothers Gary (Debbie) Tanner, Dennis (Khai) Castellini, Ron (Peggy) Castellini, and Steven Oppel; sisters Debbie (Richard) Ondrisek, Sharon Castellini, and Darlene Daugaard, 6 grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and Lily, the golden retriever who adores him.

Visitation will be at 2 pm at Clyde Iron Works (2920 W Michigan St, Duluth) with funeral services at 3 pm, on Saturday, February 22, 2025. We invite everyone to wear Danny’s favorite color, purple, in his honor and to stay after the service for generous appetizers and much more storytelling and reminiscing. Interment will be held at Lakeview-Palmer Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Animal Allies Duluth or the Humane Society, Korkki Nordic Ski Center, or Minnesota Trout Unlimited. The family would like to thank the Duluth Township emergency responders and our neighbors for their kind assistance.