Daniel Raymond Mitchell, 74

Daniel Raymond Mitchell passed away on May 25, 2010, after an ambitious and hard-fought four-year battle with lung cancer. Dan was born in Custer, S.D., to Dora Mae Johnson Mitchell and Milton Theodore Mitchell. His father died in 1936 and the family moved to Walnut Grove, Minn. When Dan was 6, his mother moved to Kalispell with her three children, Dan and his sister, Gladys, and brother, Don, both of whom survive him, and Dan thereafter made his home in the area. He attended grade school in Evergreen and graduated from Flathead County High School in 1954. An outstanding athlete in track, football and basketball, he played varsity basketball all four years and on state championship basketball squads in 1951 and 1953. In 1956, Dan joined the National Guard. After basic training at Fort Ord, Calif., he was assigned duty at a San Francisco hospital. On July 6, 1956, he married Gail Lyonais and they were blessed with five children, Danette, Scott, Joel, Paul and Eric. Dan worked for Mills Lumber Co., in both Kalispell and Kemmerer, Wyo. He and Gail moved back to Kalispell in 1960. Dan then worked for Jim Slack, as both mechanic and truck driver. Later, he bought his own truck and drove cross-country, hauling grain, petroleum products and logs. He also transported campers for Bell Manufacturing. The passing years led to divorce and a return to hauling logs and working for Bob Wager Trucking until retirement. Dan married Marian Nordtome Miller, acquiring two stepchildren, Rob and Kim. Marian passed away in 2003. In June 2004, Dan married Reta Sweeney, of Kalispell, adding another eight stepchildren s extended families to his tree. Reserved, perceptive and possessed of a generous sense of humor and irony, Dan was also long known for his work ethic, a dedicated and conscientious worker. He carried out many home improvement projects, always trying to make his living space more practical, attractive and comfortable. He loved his family, friends, and the Flathead. He followed his son Eric s interest in stock car racing and often worked with his sons on vehicles and machinery in the home shop. Dan was an avid, life-long builder and pilot of model airplanes, a complement to his general fascination with aviation and its history. Dan s knowledge of planes had depth and breadth; he could name the plane and year it was made upon a brief viewing. A pilgrimage to see the famed Spruce Goose aircraft and sit in the cockpit was a highlight of his life. And a recent visit to the Smithsonian aircraft collections in Washington, D.C., left others following him around as if guided by a museum docent, gently corrected when details about a plane s history were mis-stated. A close family friend dedicated as Mitchell Field their home-based landing strip for radio-controlled model flights (and a few crashes.) Others who fly in that same airspace will always do so with a nod to the spirit of fun and flight that Dan brought to the hobby and to his life and to the lives of others. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. June 5 at Buffalo Hill Funeral Home, followed by a celebration of Dan s life at the Doran Center at St. Matthew s Church.