Herb Danielsen, born November 18, 1945 in Oakland, California, passed

peacefully in his sleep on March 26, 2023, in Portland, Oregon.  Born to Juanita Danielsen (née Ballard) and Herbert C. Danielsen, 

   Herb grew up in Concord, CA. Childhood friends and family knew him as “H.C.”. He was an only child born into a large family of cousins and aunts and uncles and enjoyed summers in Lake Tahoe with his extended family. He attended Clayton Valley High School, graduating in 1963. During his junior year at San Francisco State, he studied

abroad at the University of Uppsala, in Uppsala Sweden, where he met his future wife, Anita in 1967. They attended graduate school together at the University of Washington in Seattle and

were married in San Francisco on July 18, 1970.

   In 1971 Herb was hired to teach English at East Union High School. He remained on the faculty until he retired from teaching in 2004. He was a patient and beloved teacher and colleague, known for his particular affection for Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn. During his teaching career at EUHS, he coached soccer, was the adviser for Expressions poetry  magazine, and was a participant in two year-long Fulbright Teacher Exchanges. The first was to York, England (1980-1981) and the second to Cranbrook, BC, Canada (1989-1990).

After retirement, he served as a liaison between the local Kiwanis Club and the East Union High School Kiwins.  Herb was a loving husband and father and a wonderful family man. Choosing not to teach summer school, he instead spent his time off traveling with his wife and three children, visiting Anita’s family in Sweden and friends in Europe. He and his family went hiking and camping in the summers and snow skiing in the Sierras in the winter. For many years Herb donated his time to the Manteca Dolphin Swim Team as a stroke and turn judge. As a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Manteca, he also volunteered for the Sierra Service Project for several summers.

   Herb’s great love was the outdoors. He went fly fishing and backpacking with friends and for two summers he and his son Christian backpacked the 220-mile John Muir trail. When Herb returned from his study abroad year in Sweden he transferred to UC Berkeley and graduated with a B. A. in Scandinavian Studies in 1968. He also became a lifelong Cal football fan. For years he and Anita spent fall Saturdays watching home games at Memorial stadium in Berkeley.

   In June of 2014 Herb and Anita moved to Portland, Oregon to live closer to their children and grandchildren.  A lovely, kind man, husband, father, and grandfather, he will be dearly missed by his wife Anita, children Sara (Sean), Nina (George), and Christian (Alexandra), three grandchildren Avery, Axel, and Poppy, family in Sweden, and many, many friends.

   Donations in his memory can be made to, The League to Save Lake Tahoe; donate.keeptahoeblue.org.  The Yosemite Conservancy;

yosemite.org/remember

Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin

Wednesday, June 14, 2023