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.