James Anthony Danowski

With hearts full of love and gratitude, we share the passing of James Anthony Danowski-our beloved Jim-who went home to God surrounded by his family on November 14, 2025. He was 76 years young.
Born on August 2, 1949, in Detroit, Michigan, Jim carried the warmth and grit of the Motor City with him always. A proud Michigan State Spartan, he earned a PhD in Communication (1975). It was during those East Lansing years that he met the love of his life, Donna Olson. Their first date turned into 54 years of marriage, three children, one grandson, a granddaughter on the way, and a lifetime of shared laughter, faith, and unwavering partnership.
Jim spent more than four decades lighting the way for others. He was a founding faculty member of USC's Annenberg School of Communication, a cherished professor and mentor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the quiet genius behind WORDij, SENET, and NEGOPY-tools that have helped over 15,000 researchers worldwide understand human connection more deeply. His groundbreaking methods were cited in four U.S. patents and nearly 5,000 research publications. His contagious passion for learning made colleagues lifelong friends and students family. Even in his final weeks he was still innovating.
But the work that mattered most happened at home. Jim never missed a chance to tell Donna he loved her, to let his children know how proud he was of them, or to embrace his inner child with his grandson Luke.
A man of deep Catholic faith, Jim and Donna made SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Naperville their spiritual home beginning in 1984. There he found joy in the Eucharist, comfort in prayer, and purpose in loving others the way Christ taught.
Jim is survived by the great loves of his life: his wife of 54 years, Donna Olson Danowski, his children, Eric (Hayley) Danowski, David Danowski, and Kristen (Taylor) Brown, his cherished grandson, Luke Brown, and a granddaughter on the way, and his siblings, nephews, and a worldwide family of colleagues and friends who will carry his light forward.
A Visitation for James will be held on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, from 3:00 – 8:00 PM at the Beidelman-Kunsch Funeral Homes and Crematory, 516 S. Washington Street, Naperville, IL 60540. A mass of Christian burial will be held on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 11:00 AM SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 36 N. Ellsworth Street, Naperville, IL 60540. Interment Naperville Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to the International Communication Association (https://www.icahdq.org/donations/) or the UIC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences so future scholars can walk the path Jim blazed.
Arrangements by Beidelman-Kunsch Funeral Homes. Online memories and condolences may be shared at beidelmanfuneralhome.com.
Jim,
you spent a lifetime tracing the hidden threads that bind us-
words to hearts, people to people, earth to heaven.
Now those threads have drawn you home.
Dance with the angels, dear one.
We will follow the light you left in every line of code,
every hug, every quiet "I love you."
Until we meet again-
go gently, go joyfully, go wrapped in the love
that will never, ever let you go.
We love you forever.