STORY -- Funeral services for Daniel G. Balkenbush, 53, will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 17, 2007, at Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church with Rev. Ron Stolcis officiating. Interment will follow in the Kearney Cemetery.

Rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Friday, March 16, 2007, at the church.

He died at his home on March 10, 2007.

He was born June 26, 1953, in Buffalo, the fifth of seven children to Lois (Peters) and Jim Balkenbush. He was one of the first babies born in the "new" Buffalo hospital.

He grew up in Buffalo and Story and graduated from Sheridan High School in 1972.

After high school, he attended the University of Wyoming.

On June 5, 1981, he married Michelle Sabell in Golden, Colo.

They made their home in Story and he worked as a foreman at Decker Coal until 1983.

They moved to Gillette and he worked at the Caballo Coal Mine.

In 1997, they moved to Big Fork, Mont., where he went into business for himself refinishing log buildings.

In 2002, he moved back to Story, where he spent the remainder of his life, except for a year spent in Billings, Casper and Sheridan hospitals and the Acquired Brain Injury rehabilitation program at LifeQuest/RENEW in Sheridan after a severe brain injury due to a horse accident in September 2005. He was the first graduate of that program in September 2006.

He was a devoted father and loved spending time with his two children.

He coached youth wrestling, baseball, football, track and soccer. He was an avid outdoorsman and an accomplished horseman and spent his free time hunting, fishing, training horses and packing in the mountains.

Survivors include his parents, his children, John Michael Balkenbush of Fredrick, Colo., and Carly Jo Balkenbush of Key West, Fla.; his four brothers and their wives, John Balkenbush of Conrad, Mont., Petge and Bob, all of Sheridan and Ken Balkenbush of Story; his sisters, Jalen Sorenson and her husband of Gillette and Judy Balkenbush of Sheridan; three aunts, seven nieces, seven nephews, eight great-nieces and 11 great-nephews; numerous cousins and many lifelong friends.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Laurel and Ethelyn (Rowden) Peters and JP and Anna (Schroeder) Balkenbush; six uncles and two aunts.

The family has requested that memorials be made to the CHAPS Program, 501 E. US Hwy 14, Sheridan, 829801.

Kane Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Casper Star-Tribune - March 13, 2007