Leonard Danna

March 2, 1910 - September 21, 2006

Leonard A. Danna, 96, of 121 Buffalo St., passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family on September 17, 2006 at 2:45 P.M. He was born March 2, 1910 in Buffalo, the son of Leonard and Florence Antozzi Danna. He left Buffalo in 1957 and made Jamestown his home for the past 49 years. Mr. Danna attended Lafayette High School and the University of Buffalo. During the ?Roaring Twenties? he played trombone in a ?Dixieland? style band in many venues throughout Buffalo and Western New York as a musician, like his father who had played with John Phillip Sousa. His long professional career began in Buffalo in 1931 at Consolidated Aircraft, building airplanes. In 1940 he accepted a position with the Department of Defense as a Defense Contract Administrator. This position included overseeing military inspections at Irving Airchute, Bell Aircraft, General Motors, and Eastman Kodak. After World War II he worked as a training officer for the United States Veteran?s Administration instructing returning vets and taught quality assurance at Erie County Community College. In 1957 he accepted a position with the United States Air Force as Quality Assurance Rep in charge of Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties. He was stationed at Marlin Rockwell/TRW in Jamestown until his retirement from the government in 1977. After ?retirement?, he did consultant work for Intertec Corp. of California as East Coast Director. He finally retired in 1995 at age 85. Some of the many projects Mr. Danna worked on included the Apollo Project, Trident Missile system projects, as well as nuclear submarine development. Mr. Danna was a communicant of Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, and was a member of Ingjald Lodge 65, Independent Order of Vikings. His other activities included playing trombone, tennis, table tennis, jogging, collecting antiques, and he loved spending time with his family. Surviving are five children: Robert C. Danna (Fran) of Port Orange, Fla., Richard A. Danna (Jeannie Moon) of Gerry, Gary W. Danna of Jamestown, Susan M. Danna Myer (Greg) of Green, Ohio, and John L. Danna (Sharon) of Hamburg, New York; six grandchildren: Colin Danna (Sunny) of Scottsdale, Ariz., Kimberly Danna of Gerry, Sean and Caitlin Myer, both of Green, Ohio, and Ryan and Krista Danna, both of Hamburg, New York. He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Bernice M. Anderson, whom he married Aug. 20, 1949 in Ss. Peter & Paul Church, and who died April 24, 1990. The funeral will be at 11:00 A.M. Friday in Powers, Present & Sixbey Funeral Home. The Rev. Dennis W. Mende, pastor of Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church will officiate. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. Thursday in the funeral home. Email condolences may be sent by visiting the website www.presentsixbeyfuneral.com. Memorials may be made to Hospice Chautauqua County, 4840 W. Lake Rd., Mayville, N.Y. 14757.