Robert Edgar (Bob) Danforth, 83, passed away on Aug. 6 at his home in Walla Walla after a courageous one year battle with cancer. Barbara, his wife of 61 years, and other family members were by his side.
Bob was born Sept. 7, 1929 in Spokane to Edgar and Agnes Danforth. His father died when Bob was only a year old. His mother remarried Otto Schmitt in 1935 and they moved to the Lance Hills area of Cheney. He attended Cheney schools until his senior year when he moved to Waitsburg to help out an uncle, where he graduated from Waitsburg High School in 1947. He attended the Univesity of Washington in 1948 and joined the United States Marine Corps in 1950 where he served four years.
He and Barbara returned to Waitsburg in 1954 and moved to the family farm where they farmed until 1996 before moving to Walla Walla in 2006. Bob was active in the Lions Club, the Waitsburg Presbyterian Church and served on many farm boards.
Bob is survived by his wife, Barbara, three children, Robert Jr. (Leslie) of Issaquah, Susie (Mitchell) Payne of Dayton and David (Nancy) of Redmond. He is also survived by eight grandchildren and sibling Raymond and Ronald Schmitt and Arlene Mowatt of Cheney. He was preceded in death by his mother and father, his sister Mary Heffner and half-sister Laura Berggren.
Funeral services were held on Aug. 10 at the Waitsburg Presbyterian Church. Graveside services followed at the Waitsburg City Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Spokane or Walla Walla Community Hospice. Groseclose Funeral Home in Walla Walla were in charge of the services.
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