David Michael Dank (July 14, 1938 – April 10, 2015) was a Republican member of the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's ...

from the Nichols Hills section of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. He held this position from 2007 until his death, succeeding his term-limited wife,

Odilia Dank Odilia Mary Russo Dank (September 3, 1938 – August 17, 2013) was an American educator and politician from Oklahoma City who served as a Republican member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, from District 85. Dank was elected in 19 ...

, the first woman to serve as chairman of the House Education Committee, who died in August 2013.

Early life

A native of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, Dank graduated from Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City and attended the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

Private career

Dank was the president of Dank Consulting in Oklahoma City. Dank was the publisher of the ''Moore Monitor'' and the ''Oklahoma Conservative Review'' newspapers. He was a political analyst and commentator for

KTOK KTOK (1000 AM) is a commercial radio station in Oklahoma City and airs a news/talk format. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., and licensed as iHM Licenses, LLC. KTOK and its sister stations, KGHM, KJYO, KOKQ, KTST and KXXY-FM, have offi ...

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

, the Oklahoma News Network, and the

Oklahoma Educational Television Authority The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA) is a network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The authority operates as a statutory corporation that holds the broadcast license, licenses for all of ...

. As an executive vice president of the Oklahoma Retail Merchants Association, Dank worked for passage of his state's consumer credit code and the law requiring photo identity on drivers' licenses. Dank was a member of the Oklahoma City

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

, the

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), commonly known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks, is an American fraternal order and charitable organization founded in 1868 in New York City. Originally established as a social club for m ...

, the

National Rifle Association of America The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

, and the executive committees of the Republican parties of the state of Oklahoma as well as

Oklahoma County Oklahoma County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 796,292, making it the most populous county in Oklahoma. The county seat is Oklahoma City, the state capital and ...

. He was a member of Christ the King

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Oklahoma City. He had one daughter, Trina, son-in-law, Gale, and two grandchildren, Hannah and Daniel. David Dank died of a heart attack on April 10, 2015, at his home in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Political career

Dank was the chairman of two House committees: the House Tax Credit and Economic Incentive Oversight, and Long-term Care and Senior Services. He additionally served as chairman of the House and Senate Conference Committee on Long-term Care and Senior Services.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dank, David 1938 births 2015 deaths Politicians from Pittsburgh University of Oklahoma alumni Businesspeople from Oklahoma City Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Oklahoma Legislature Politicians from Oklahoma City Journalists from Pennsylvania Journalists from Oklahoma Catholics from Pennsylvania Catholic politicians from Oklahoma 20th-century American businesspeople