It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Danny Baum, age 80, of Huron. Danny gained his angels wings on November 22, 2024, at 6:48 pm, in his home and with the comfort of knowing his daughter, Tina and her husband, Sean were by his side until his passing.

Son of Sybil A. Baum (Raynor), and Leroy A. Baum, he was born on December 22, 1943, at Huron Sprague Hospital in Huron, S.D. Dan grew up in a loving home with his brother, Oliver and his sister, Elaine (Podhrahsky). His passion for classic cars started at an early age. He once hitchhiked to Oregon at 17 years old to purchase a candy apple red 40' Ford Coupe.

Danny graduated from Huron High School in 1962. He married the love of his life, Janice I. Goehring, in 1963. Danny enlisted in the US Navy and received his basic training in Great Lakes, IL.  Danny was first stationed in Millington, Tennessee and then spent the rest of his service in San Diego, California. His only son, Mike was born in San Diego in 1965. Upon completion of military service he returned to Huron to work for the Bureau of Reclamation. He welcomed his second child, Tina, in 1970. Dan came from humble beginnings. He utilized his mechanical talent and his ability to think outside the box to provide for his family. In his spare time, he installed air conditioners in cars in his garage and purchased one of the first snow blowers in town to clear snow in the winter.

In 1975, he purchased Larsen Manufacturing located in Wolsey, SD. They moved the business to Huron in 1979. They started off making cabs for farm/construction tractors, installing air conditioning units and servicing commercial refrigeration units. Dan built many homes over the years. Most notably, he built a two story house in the loft of a barn that overlooked the James River. The barn was part of an old dairy farm that was located on the hill between 9-13th Lawnridge Avenue SE.  His next project was restoring a 35' Chevy one ton truck, which took him over 10 years.

Dan's other passions in life include his love of dogs and hunting. He often reminisced about his hunting trip to Argentina. Many fond memories come to mind involving heavy snow and the pursuit of birds. Tow ropes were used often to pull each other out of snow drifts. One memorable hunt, Kim Tschetter purchased a commercial snow plow from the airport to clear a path in the snow so that they could more effectively hunt the tree strips.

Dan retired in 2005 when he sold Larsen Manufacturing. He liked to stay busy. He continued to buy and sell land, work on projects, have coffee with his friends and visited San Diego to reminisce about the time that he spent there as a young man. In the Fall/Winter he looked forward to pheasant hunting with his friends and family.

Towards the end of his life he spent most of his time with his beloved dog Free. Free went everywhere with Dan, riding in the bed of Dan's truck. He took her out running at least twice a day. She was truly "man's best friend". Free is currently living with a loving family in Faulkton where she is able hunt, per Dan's wishes.

There are no words that can express how grateful and blessed we are to: Amy Duxbury who cared for him during the final months of his life, HRMC Hospice Care Team, and to Julie Peterson for her healing hands. In his finally days, he was thankful to all of the friends that he had made over the years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brother, sister and many beloved pets.

Grateful for having shared his life are his son, Michael (Margaret) Baum, Chicago and daughter, Tina (Sean) Baum, Huron and his grandchildren, Allie and James Baum, Chicago.

A private burial was held in the Restlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made in Danny's name to the family for a memorial fund that has been set up to help support abandoned pets in our community.