A Danko Obituary Quiz

Newspaper articles and obituaries often provide information about our relatives lives beyond the mere facts of birth, marriage, and death.

Below, I’ve provided the names of ten of my Danko relatives and ten excerpts from their obituaries. Danko family members can try to match the names to the excerpts. The rest of you can just read the details to see the rich and varied lives my Danko relatives lived.

The names are:

• John J. Petri
• Michael J. Danko
• Joseph M. Iwaniec
• George L. McGinn
• Sophie (Danko) Gibson
• Jean B. (Skowronski, Sharron) Danko
• Joseph J. Danko
• Maryanna (Dziurzynski) Danko
• Bertha T. (Danko) McGinn
• Victoria T. Golinski

The excerpts from the obituaries to match with the names are:

1. He was an Army veteran of World War II, serving as a sergeant with Company A, 366th Military Police Service Battalion, in the European-African-Middle Eastern theater.
2. [She] was a laboratory assistant at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester for 14 years, retiring in 1981.
3. He was a wire drawer at American Steel & Wire Co. for 38 years, retiring 10 years ago.
4. She was born in Slewnica, Poland, and came to this country in 1909 and lived in Worcester prior to moving to Albany in 1953.
5. [She was] a native of Austria who had been an Albany resident for 55 years.
6. He was employed by the NY Central Railroad and the East Buffalo Car Shops for many years. He was also a salesman for several years and a security guard at the Washington Park Lakehouse.
7. [She] was a laundry worker at Memorial Hospital in Worcester for 35 years, retiring in 1978. She was a member of Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in Worcester.
8. She worked at the former U.S. Envelope Co. for 12 years until 1970 .  She then worked as a dietary aide at The Memorial Hospital from 1972 to 1975.
9. He was a maintenance man at Rockwood Sprinkler Co. for 20 years before retiring in 1974.
10. [He] was born in Albany and lived in the Capital District most of his life. He was a security supervisor at Sterling Organics Company in Rensselaer.

The names, correctly matched with the excerpts are:

John J. Petri (husband of my aunt, Helen A. Danko) = 6
Michael Danko (my grandfather) = 3
Joseph M. Iwaniec (son of my aunt, Statia Danko) = 10
George L. McGinn (husband of my aunt, Bertha T. Danko) = 9
Sophie (Danko) Gibson (my aunt) = 5
Jean B. (Skowronski, Sharron) Danko (wife of my uncle, Michael J. Danko) = 2
Joseph J. Danko (my uncle) = 1
Maryanna (Dziurzynski) Danko (my grandmother) = 4
Bertha T. (Danko) McGinn (my aunt) = 8
Victoria T. Golinski (daughter of my grand aunt, Maryanna Danko) = 7

While not providing an entire biography, these obituaries provide a glimpse into the lives of ancestors and other relatives, information that, in just a single generation, might otherwise be lost or otherwise difficult to discover.

Written for the Carnival of Genealogy.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko