Obituary for William G. "Bill" Benninghoff
William G. "Bill" Benninghoff,
72, of Rice Lake Road South, Mercer, died Monday, Aug. 1, 2011, at home,
surrounded by his loving family, following a two-year battle with
cancer. He was born Oct. 12, 1938, in San Francisco,
Calif., son of the late George and Katherine (Dineen) Benninghoff, attended St.
Brendan's Grade School there, and graduated from Riordan High School in San
Francisco in 1956. He then served in the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton in
San Diego from 1957-1959. Bill married the former Virginia Lahti of Oma,
Wis. on Aug. 28, 1965. He then graduated from Golden Gate College with a degree
in business and accounting in 1968, and owned and operated three McDonald's
Restaurants, two in Napa Valley and one in Pinole, Calif., from 1969-1997. Known
as "Mr. McDonald's", he was highly regarded for community involvement. Following
his retirement in 1997, Bill and Virginia moved to Mercer in 2000 and resettled
on Rice Lake. Bill was a member of the Rice Lake
Association, Mercer Lakes Alliance, and the Ironwood-Hurley Rotary Club. He will
be sadly missed by all who knew him. Surviving are his wife, Virginia, of 45 years;
two children, Kathryn (Michael Lipney), Boulder, Colo., and Michael (Anna),
Minneapolis, Minn.; two grandchildren, Peter Verner Benninghoff and Nicholas Anders
Benninghoff; two sisters, Joan (Daniel) Murphy, Petaluma, Calif., and Mary Anne
(James) Melson, Valley Springs, Calif.; a brother-in-law, Verner Lahti Jr.,
Humboldt, Tenn.; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Aug.
6, at 11 a.m., at the McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home, 305 N. Lowell St., in
Ironwood, with the Rev. Norman Kangas officiating. Committal will take place at the funeral home,
with luncheon to follow at the Iron Nugget in downtown Hurley. Interment will be in the Hurley
Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 10
to 11 a.m. on Saturday. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may
be made to the Ironwood-Hurley Rotary Club, P.O. Box 113, Ironwood, Mich. 49938,
or the Ronald McDonald House, in care of Virginia Benninghoff, P.O. Box 86,
Mercer, Wis. 54547. To view Bill's obituary online, sign his
guestbook or express condolences, visit
mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are entrusted to McKevitt-Patrick
Funeral Home, Inc., Ironwood.
72, of Rice Lake Road South, Mercer, died Monday, Aug. 1, 2011, at home,
surrounded by his loving family, following a two-year battle with
cancer. He was born Oct. 12, 1938, in San Francisco,
Calif., son of the late George and Katherine (Dineen) Benninghoff, attended St.
Brendan's Grade School there, and graduated from Riordan High School in San
Francisco in 1956. He then served in the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton in
San Diego from 1957-1959. Bill married the former Virginia Lahti of Oma,
Wis. on Aug. 28, 1965. He then graduated from Golden Gate College with a degree
in business and accounting in 1968, and owned and operated three McDonald's
Restaurants, two in Napa Valley and one in Pinole, Calif., from 1969-1997. Known
as "Mr. McDonald's", he was highly regarded for community involvement. Following
his retirement in 1997, Bill and Virginia moved to Mercer in 2000 and resettled
on Rice Lake. Bill was a member of the Rice Lake
Association, Mercer Lakes Alliance, and the Ironwood-Hurley Rotary Club. He will
be sadly missed by all who knew him. Surviving are his wife, Virginia, of 45 years;
two children, Kathryn (Michael Lipney), Boulder, Colo., and Michael (Anna),
Minneapolis, Minn.; two grandchildren, Peter Verner Benninghoff and Nicholas Anders
Benninghoff; two sisters, Joan (Daniel) Murphy, Petaluma, Calif., and Mary Anne
(James) Melson, Valley Springs, Calif.; a brother-in-law, Verner Lahti Jr.,
Humboldt, Tenn.; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Aug.
6, at 11 a.m., at the McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home, 305 N. Lowell St., in
Ironwood, with the Rev. Norman Kangas officiating. Committal will take place at the funeral home,
with luncheon to follow at the Iron Nugget in downtown Hurley. Interment will be in the Hurley
Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 10
to 11 a.m. on Saturday. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may
be made to the Ironwood-Hurley Rotary Club, P.O. Box 113, Ironwood, Mich. 49938,
or the Ronald McDonald House, in care of Virginia Benninghoff, P.O. Box 86,
Mercer, Wis. 54547. To view Bill's obituary online, sign his
guestbook or express condolences, visit
mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are entrusted to McKevitt-Patrick
Funeral Home, Inc., Ironwood.