John B Danforth

Judge John B. Danforth, 78, of Jefferson passed away on Tuesday, February 12th at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison. John was born on November 18th, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan. His parents settled in Janesville, where his father, Hershel, served as a physician for General Motors and in clinical practice. His mother taught music in the Janesville school system. A graduate of Janesville High School, John attended Millikin University in Decatur, IL and completed his undergraduate degree at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. After a long debate as to whether to focus his advance studies in vocal performance or Law, he chose the latter (good thing, as he later had 8 children). He completed his Law degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in1954. John met his wife Marilyn while at Millikin University. The two married in Chestnut, IL on September 14th, 1952 and got to work starting a family right away. Soon after graduating from law school, John began his legal career in Fort Atkinson where he joined the law practice of Sheldon Vance and Charles B. Rogers for a short time. He had a short hiatus from law when he moved to Madison and took a position as a claims adjuster with State Farm Insurance. In 1959 he moved his family to the city of Jefferson and joined the Francis Garity firm. He later served as Family Court Commissioner and Jefferson's City Attorney and began a private law practice partnering with Dale McKenna and Raymond Krek. John was appointed as Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge by Patrick Lucey in April, 1977 and served on the bench for 13 years. John "retired" in 1991, worked as a reserve judge, and continued a limited law practice for several more years. John's great passions in life were his children, grandchildren, his friends and music. He was a member of the University Chorus at UW-Whitewater, and sang with the Madison Symphony Orchestra Chorus for five years alongside son Mark and grandson Isaac. He loved his baseball, fishing trips, and camping with his family. He was a great Badger and Packer fan. In his latter years, John enjoyed going to breakfast with his buddies. John was a masterful storyteller who appreciated a quick wit and a wry joke. His grandkids loved how silly he was. John was involved with several civic and professional organizations, but held special reverence for his time he served on the Jefferson School Board. He was a founding member of the Jefferson Council for the Performing Arts and loved performing in musical theater productions over the years, especially when his children were involved. John and his family were active members of the United Methodist Church of Fort Atkinson for several years and later the Bethany Methodist Church of Madison; he sang with both church choirs. John is survived by his wife Marilyn, his brother R. Clarke (Phyllis) Danforth of Glendale, WI, his children Bob (Pauline) of Roseville, MN, David of Madison, Mark (Ruth) of Prairie du Sac, Jon (Lorraine) of Middleton, Susan of Madison, Jennifer (Jeff) Funk of Middleton, Carolyn (Tom) Cutler of Mountain View, CA, and Sarah of Madison. He is survived by 13 grandchildren: Nathaniel, David Christopher, Isaac, Ariana, Chani, Katie, Hallie, Johannah, Will, Lucy, Ty, Violet and Adeline. Visitation will begin Wednesday, February 20th, at 12:00 P.M. followed by funeral services at 3:00 P.M. at Schneider-Michaelis Funeral Home in Jefferson with Nancy Breitspecher officiating. Memorials may be sent to the Jefferson Council for the Performing Arts.