Daniel James Naughton, 69, his family was his life

Obituary for Daniel James Naughton

Daniel James Naughton passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loving family following a courageous battle with cancer. Dan was born in Madison, Wisconsin on March 7, 1954, the son of James and Earlene (Baldwin) Naughton.

Dan’s childhood was spent on military bases throughout the world as his father was an Air Force officer, later returning to the Madison area. Upon graduating from McFarland High School in 1972, Dan proudly enlisted in the United States Navy. Following his service, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, graduating in 1978 with a degree in Business Administration.

His college roommate, Bob Sullivan, referred him for a position at OEI in Milwaukee and Dan moved to Racine, a community he adopted as his own. When OEI wanted to transfer him to Ohio, he instead accepted a position at JI Case so he could stay in Racine. At Case, he met several lifelong friends and participated in an unofficial “Case golf league” long after most of the golfers no longer worked there. Subsequently, he worked in sales for Racine Steel Castings, and ultimately spent 33 devoted years at Master Appliance Corporation, serving as Director of Purchasing until he retired on July 1, 2022.

Dan married the love of his life, Leeann Borke, on Nov. 17, 1990, at Holy Name Catholic Church and they raised their daughter, Mackenzie, in Racine. Dan loved being a husband and a father. He thoroughly enjoyed being the dad of a dancer; often in the audience at Masters of Movement, Dance Arts Center, and Trinity Irish Dance performances. He was a tireless chauffeur for all of these dance activities, an assistant basketball coach in Mackenzie’s younger years, and never missed a parent-teacher conference. His family was his life.

Dan believed in making his community a better place to live. He was a longtime board member at Lakeside Curative Workshop and served for 25 years on the board of Wind Meadows where he and his family lived until they relocated to Pleasant Prairie last year. Dan was a proud University of Wisconsin football season ticket holder for 44 years, and while he may have started out as a Yankees and Cowboys fan, he eventually became a true Wisconsinite and supported the Brewers and the Packers.

Surviving Dan are his loving wife, Leeann and his daughter, Mackenzie; his siblings, Timothy (Kathy) Naughton of Crystal Lake, Ill., Michael (Lisa) Naughton of Arlington, Va., and Kathleen (Bob) Bolanowski of Algonquin, Ill. He is further survived by his brother-in-law, William Borke of Mount Pleasant; nieces, nephews, relatives and dear friends. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Patrick Stace-Naughton; mother-in-law, Elizabeth Borke Pauls; in-laws, Lynn Borke, and Marilyn (Paul) Bodeau.

Services

A memorial service with full military honors will be held at the Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home on Friday, March 17, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. with Rev. Michael Petersen officiating. Relatives and friends may meet prior to the service from 10-11:30 a.m. Private interment will be held. Memorials to The Prairie School, Lakeside Curative Workshop, or the Prostate Cancer Foundation have been suggested.

The service will be live-streamed and may be viewed by going to the funeral home webpage, selecting Dan’s page, selecting service, and selecting live stream.

The family wishes to extend a special thank you to Dr. Michael Mullane for his years of friendship and loving, compassionate care.