Bill Danner, the longtime president of the Portland-based boot manufacturer that still bears his name decades after he sold it, died Christmas Eve at his home in Milwaukie. He was 97.

Danner's death comes a few weeks after his wife of more than six decades, Miriam, died at 96. He is survived by seven children, 19 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

Danner, one son said Thursday, will be remembered as a family man who looked after others first, including when he and his brother took over the struggling Danner Shoe Mfg. Company in 1945 and transformed it into the iconic brand it is today.

"Being in the shoe business was not something he picked out," said Bill Crary Jr., one of Danner's three adopted children, who worked for years at the family business before starting his own shoe company in Portland. "Somebody had to do it, so he did it. That's the kind of guy that he was."

He and his brother, John Danner, took over the company from their father Charles after returning from World War II. Bill Danner eventually bought out his brother's stake and led Danner to tremendous growth, eventually selling the brand in 1983 to businessman Eric Merk.

In 1994, LaCrosse Footwear Inc. bought Danner. Japanese footwear company ABC-Mart bought the businesses in 2012. Danner still operates out of its Portland headquarters.

Laurie Thomas, Director of Marketing for LaCrosse Footwear, Inc. said in a statement the company was saddened to hear about Danner's death. "It is his commitment to quality and craftsmanship that is at the heart of the Danner brand," she said.

"If not for his vision and high standards, we would not be the company we are today. We honor his legacy and celebrate a very long and successful life, measured in lives touched and miles explored. Our best wishes go out to the entire Danner family."

William Charles Danner was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin in 1919, where his father founded the family company. Charles Danner moved it to Portland in 1936, four years after starting the business, according to Danner's website.

Bill Danner graduated from the University of Portland before fighting in World War II, Crary Jr. said. He was a sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps and flew in B-17s, where he operated the top turret gunning station on dozens of missions out of North Africa.

He'd already worked in the boot factory before the war, Crary Jr. said, but took over the business with his brother upon returning to Portland.

Bill Danner, pictured at the Danner Shoe factory in 1973.

In 1954, Danner married Miriam Crary, whose husband Bill Crary died in the Korean War. Danner adopted her three children from that marriage. The couple would go on to have five more kids together.

"He raised me," Crary Jr. said. "He taught me how to be a man."

Crary Jr. described his father as a hardworking guy who helped build the company into a name brand in an era when American boots were not in vogue.

The company made its name on its heavy-duty work boots primarily, but that would change under Danner's watch.

In 1964, he climbed Mt. Hood with specially designed hiking boots. By the mid-1970s, backpacking became a popular pastime and the boot was featured in Backpacker magazine as the No. 1 value in the country.

Production and orders tripled, Crary Jr. said, and the plant started cranking out 180 pairs a day.

"The rest is sort of history," he said.

The boot became more famous in recent years when actress Reese Witherspoon wore them in the big screen adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's memoir, "Wild."

By 1994, according to a story in The Oregonian regarding the LaCrosse sale, Danner had grown to more than 160 employees with $15 million in sales. Today, Danner has about 400 employees, mostly in Portland.

According to ABC-Mart's 2015 annual report, its companies had more than $1.8 billion in net sales last year.

Today, the company has a boutique store in trendy Union Way in downtown Portland and is a household name in footwear.

Crary Jr., who founded a shoe company with his own name in 1978, said Bill Danner did quite well by selling the company, but he never talked about how well he did.

Crary Jr. said he always thought Danner regretted selling the company when he did, and that he could've made more money by holding onto it a few more years. "My dad never understood the value of his name," he said.

But, he added, stepping down from the leadership role probably contributed to his long life.

Bill and Miriam traveled the world in retirement. According to an obituary in the Hood River News, the pair visited more than 40 countries together.

They volunteered along the way at orphanages in Romania and schools in India and Honduras, the obituary said.

"His whole mindset was, 'what can I do for you?'" Crary Jr. said.

The family was not confident Bill would make it to Christmas when Miriam died Nov. 4, Crary Jr. said. They were proved right; he died Dec. 24.

A memorial is scheduled Feb. 5 at Willamette View assisted living center in Milwaukie from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.



-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen