Daniel Stewart

Daniel Wayne Stewart, was born in 1948 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Dan was born in South Dakota as the oldest of four boys and his family moved from the rural cornfields to California, ultimately settling in Los Angeles.  He attended Polytechnic High School and earned his A&P Mechanic’s license in the 1960’s.  Danworked on the SR-71 Blackbird fighter jet before it was public and was proud of his contributions to that project.  From there, Dan took his talents to the Great Frontier and moved to Alaska to be a sheet metal mechanic for Wien Airlines. 

Danny, as he was known to his family and friends, was a man that lived by Frank Sinatra’s motto, “I’ll do it my way” and he did! Not only did he do things his way, but he also had an adventurous spirit that inspired the best stories.  From racing motorcycles in the Mojave Desert to building muscle cars, his youth was full of wild exploits.  But his biggest adventures were found in Alaska.  While he never got a pilot’s license, he loved flying a Piper Cub around Alaska until he crashed it on a river and a bear stalked him until he was rescued.  His kids remember camping on the beaches in Homer, catching salmon on the shores of the Kenai River, swimming out and back to an iceshelf in a lake to win $5 and attending every Renaissance Festival, Carnival or County Fair within a 200-mile radius.  There are hundreds of stories yet to be told.

When he met Kathleen in 1982, in Seattle, Washington, it was love at first sight for both of them. With their marriage they became a family of six and resided in Anchorage, Alaska.  Eventually, they’d find their way to Oklahoma.  Much later they would move back to South Dakota where Kathleen took care of Dan’s parents until they both passed away many years later and Dan and Kathleen would settle in Hurley, South Dakota. 

The love and friendship from the residents of Hurley is what sustained Dan through these past years of sadness and medical complications.  Dolly, Jen and Chris would like to give special thanks to Jackie and Danny, Annie, Jeff and Paula.

Dan is preceded in death by his wife, Kathleen, and son, AdamTurk; parents, Wayne and Janice Stewart; and brothers, Dennis and Dudley Stewart. He is survived by his son, Chris Stewart, and daughter,  Dolly (Rory) Weber and Jennifer (Rhett) Butler; his five grandchildren, Evan Butler, Emma Butler, Ella Weber, Ethan Butler and Eastan Weber; and his brother David Stewart.

As per Dan’s wishes, his children will join half his ashes with Kathleen at Rosario Beach in Washington and the other half will be taken on his last great adventure to Homer, Alaska. Memorial plans will be shared at a later date.