Daniel E. Malkovich

SESSER -- Daniel Ewing Malkovich, 59, died at 10:59 a.m. Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Good Samaritan Regional Health Center in Mount Vernon.

Mr. Malkovich was born Oct. 9, 1951, in Christopher, the son of Daniel Leon Malkovich and Joe Anne Choisser Malkovich. He married Debbie Eubanks on June 17, 1978, and she survives.

He was a 1969 graduate of Benton Consolidated High School and attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss.

Mr. Malkovich was the publisher of The Benton Evening News and was a past publisher of The Daily American in West Frankfort. His career at The Benton Evening News, which was owned by his family until 1986, spanned almost six decades and included roles as carrier, sports reporter and editor.

His ability to deliver a properly folded newspaper with unerring aim is unparalleled in BEN history.

Mr. Malkovich enjoyed people, having never met a stranger. He loved his family, his many friends and his canine friends. He loved watching his children and grandchildren play sports, reading newspapers and books; and horse racing and classic movies.

He was of Protestant faith.

Mr. Malkovich is survived by his wife, Debbie Malkovich of Sesser; two sons, Matthew Malkovich and wife, Brandi, of Orlando, Fla., and Tim Eubanks and wife, Kim, of Benton; grandson, T.J. Eubanks, who resides in the Malkovich home in Sesser; granddaughter, Bayley Eubanks of Benton; one brother, John Malkovich and Nicole Peyran of Cambridge, Mass., two sisters, Melissa Malkovich and Joe Starita of Seagrove Beach, Fla., and Rebecca Malkovich of Benton; the daughter he never had, his niece, Fonda Eubanks Zimmerman and husband, Mark, of Sesser, as well as her children, Zane and Zoe Reagan and Kade Zimmerman; mother-in-law, Evelyn Eubanks of Sesser; brother-in-law, Gale and Carrie Eubanks of Sesser; sisters-in-law, Marlene and Jack Stubblefield of Sesser; Brenda and Billy Joe Hartley of West Frankfort; numerous nieces and nephews; his beloved newspaper family; and the staff and fellow patients at DaVita dialysis center in Mount Vernon.

Mr. Malkovich was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Amanda Malkovich; and father-in-law, Howard W. Eubanks.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Hobbs-Johnson Funeral Home in Benton, and from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011, at Whittington Church in Whittington.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the church, with the Revs. Mark Minor and Julie Smith officiating. Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery in Sesser.

Memorial contributions may be made to Whittington Church, 200 W. Main, Whittington, IL 62897; or First United Methodist Church, 108 E. Matthew, Sesser, IL 62884.

Visit www.hobbsjohnson.com to sign the memorial guestbook.