Teacher, dancer Don Hanni dies at 85 after Occidental house fire

Don Hanni, the 85-year-old man who was severely burned by the flames that destroyed his Occidental home earlier this month, died Tuesday as a result of his injuries.

Hanni’s home caught fire from a wood-burning stove Oct. 1 while he was inside. His son, Robert Hanni, was living in the adjoining home and pulled him out of the burning building. Don Hanni suffered third-degree burns to about 50% of his body, and died early Tuesday morning after weeks in a Sacramento hospital.

“He was such a fighter,” Robert Hanni said of his father. “But it was just too much for him to bear for his age.”

Robert Hanni said that at 85, there was very little his father hadn’t done.

After teaching in Sonoma County for about three decades, he joined the Peace Corps and worked in South Africa. Several years later, he traveled all over the world as a dance host on cruise ships.

“He wasn’t afraid to try to do anything,” Robert Hanni said. “He really wanted to see every bit of the world. ... He probably left very little of the globe untouched.”

Hanni was born March 27, 1934, in Hayward. Before he started his teaching career, he worked as a newspaper printer. He studied at Sonoma State University in the 1960s to get his teaching credential, and then began his decadeslong career as a fifth grade teacher for the Sebastopol Union School District.

A well-known educator in the community, Hanni taught his own son and inspired Robert Hanni to become a teacher for the district himself years later.

Robert Hanni described his father as “very handy.” In 1966, Don Hanni bought a property in Occidental and, around 1980, built the house he lived in up until the fire.

“I remember working with him as a kid because he was always building something,” his son said.

Robert Hanni said he would miss his father’s handiness and the time he spent helping him with various projects.

“He was just so pleased that I would always know what tool to hand him,” Robert Hanni said of working with his father. “Whenever I came home, he’d always be waiting for me to help him with something.”

Even after Hanni retired, he was still very active, his son said. Hanni worked as a dance host, dancing with guests on cruise ships, for about 20 years and just stopped within the past couple of years. He often went to ballroom dances in nearby counties, worked for a local food pantry and loved to go camping.

In addition to his son, Hanni is survived by his daughters, Kathy Wippert of Healdsburg, Sharron Hanni of Hayward and Shardon Cooper of Georgia; his son, Eric Hanni of Santa Rosa; his sister, Mary Lou Schaffer of Medford, Oregon; and seven grandchildren.

“He was much loved,” Robert Hanni said. “He’ll be sorely missed.”

You can reach Staff Writer Chantelle Lee at 707-521-5337.