DANNEL FUNERAL HOME 
Historical Marker, pictured below

After training in the mortuary sciences in Chicago, John C. Dannel moved with his new wife, Flossie Louella Wade, to Sherman, Texas, where he purchased the Sherman Undertaking Company.  John's father had owned and operated an undertaking parlor in Illinois, where John was born, and he followed his father into the business.  The Dannels' first funeral parlor in Sherman was located at the corner of Walnut and Houston Streets, but the John C. Dannel Undertaking Company, as it was then known, moved into a renovated pool hall on the south side of the courthouse square in 1913.  Dannel introduced the first motorized hearse to the area in 1917, but he was sued by the local livery stable which had until that time supplied the
horses and carriages for funerals.  Dannel eventully won the case after a public fight that played out in the local newspaper.

In 1923, Dannel hired architect John Tulloch to design and build a structure dedicated
specifically as a funeral home, one of the earliest such structures in the area.  The building featured bedrooms for the family, as well as staterooms and a chapel for funerals.

John C. Dannel's son, Charles O. Dannel II, joined the family business after graduation
from the University of Texas.  Charles died in 1961 and his father died in 1963.  At that
time John Carlton Dannel II assumed management of Dannel Funeral Directors.
John died in 1997, and his wife assumed ownership and management, continuing the family
tradition of service to the citizens of Sherman and the surronding community. (2009)

Read an article about the Dannel Funeral Home below this photo;

Dannel Funeral Home
302 South Walnut Street
Sherman, Texas

Announcement on KXII (TV Station), 10 October 2009

Dannel Funeral Home
Sherman, TX - It's been a family business in Sherman for over a century
and today the Dannel Funeral home becamse a historical landmark of Texas.

Saturday morning the city recognized the business for over 100 years of service 
to the community.  It has been  passed down throught four generations of
Dannels and was founded by John C. Dannel in 1908, who came to Sherman from Illinois 
where his father owned a furniture store and funeral home.

Pat Dannel is the current owner of the funeral home.  She says it is an honor
to be recognized and is grateful for the many years they've had in Sherman.

"It's good to be among friends and be able to stay here.  You know it's a long
line of Dannels, they came down on the train and then came down in a 
covered wagon and brought their things and it's pretty historical," said Dannel.

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