Ladner both ‘Mr. Mom’ and Dad
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — When cancer claimed the life of Germaine Ladner in 1973, the task of raising a family of four daughters fell to Daniel Ladner — a task handled with pride and a great deal of love.
DANIEL LADNER, 
of Presque Isle, is best known for his bright smile, as pictured here.
“My dad is one of those special dads that every kid dreams about. He loves us unconditionally, and for this I have no doubt,” said eldest daughter Tammy Ladner-Scott. “My dad loves to spend time with us, no matter what it is that he does.”
Ladner-Scott views the upcoming Mother’s Day as a day of mixed emotions — while she misses her mother dearly, she also has joyous memories of the way her father stepped in to fill the void.
“My dad became mom and dad in an instant. So, on Mother’s Day, I not only think of my mom, but I cherish my dad,” she said. “Poor dad. The only man (she and her sisters knew) with four girls. He used to lament that even the dog was a girl.”
While some household management things were outside his realm of knowledge, being a theater buff, there were a few challenges he overcame with ease.
“He couldn’t do our hair but he could help us with our makeup, what to wear and showed us how to stand tall to wear it,” said Ladner-Scott.
Photo courtesy of Tammy Ladner-Scott
MR. MOM — The Ladner girls were raised with love by a very proud dad, Daniel Ladner, who served as both mother and father to his daughters when he lost his wife to cancer in 1973. Here, Tammy Ladner-Scott and Dan Ladner share a father-daughter moment in this undated photo. 
She said long before single parenting became the norm it is today, her dad proved, with love, anything is possible, including raising four daughters alone.
“There is nothing to suggest that mothering cannot be done by a loving father. His greatest art was to teach us the art of loving. I hope that we carry on his legacy, now and forever, of having good hearts and good souls,” said his daughter.
Ladner taught his girls by example.
“He didn’t tell us how to live. He lived and let us watch him do it. Tell us something and we forget. Show us something and we remember. Involve us and we understand,” said Ladner-Scott.
Though his girls are grown and have families of their own, Ladner remains a very intricate part of each of their lives.
“He is always there for us — like a lighthouse standing tall above the seas. When the storms of our lives have come crashing in, dad’s always served as our guiding light,” she said.
His daughter said a person’s importance is not measured by dollars and cents, it’s more a matter of what impact you’ve had on others’ lives.
“The measure of a man is not his wealth but what he means to others. Dad’s grandchildren are made up from the love of their grandfather’s children. He lives in us,” said Ladner-Scott.
To honor him, Ladner-Scott wished to recognize her father this Mother’s Day for all the years he’s devoted to his family.
“On this Mother’s Day, I think of my dad. We thank you for showing us how to be good people — caring and compassionate. We thank him from the bottom of our hearts,” said Ladner-Scott. “But for him, our hearts have no bottom.”
