For more than 50 years Marshall Dan Markham, known as “Danny,” was a major influence not only at The Independent Register but also in the community of Brodhead.
Markham, who passed away Oct. 20, 2008, was a newspaperman in the classic sense — always on top of the latest story, with an exceptional sense of civic duty.
A 1947 graduate of Brodhead High School and a 1951 graduate of UW-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in economics, he was active in all major sports in high school and lettered in collegiate basketball for three years.
He married Helen Rose Gerber in 1951. The couple in 1952 moved from Madison to Brodhead, where Dan joined his father at the Independent Register, Inc. He was one of the youngest editors in the state. His brother Dick joined the corporation after discharge from the Navy. He died at an early age of a brain tumor. Dan and Dick were instrumental in forming the Dairyland Press with Evansville and Edgerton, which is the central plant for printing several area publications. It was one of the first central plants in the state. Dan served one term on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
Dan enjoyed coaching young people in various sports and helped form the Brodhead Little League. Dan was very active in industry, business development and Jaycees. He is survived by his wife, Helen; three sons and two daughters.
