Daniel Summers West

DANIEL SUMMERS WEST Daniel Summers West, 85, passed away at his residence on June 14, 2010. Dan was born in Pueblo, Colorado to Summers E. and Rhea West. He lived in Pueblo during the first part of his life with his siblings, Rhea (Sis), Thomas (Smokey), Harold (Butch), and Charlotte (Char). He enlisted in the Army Reserves, and was called up for active duty at Ft. Logan. He served overseas in WWII in China-Burma-India from, and continued to serve in the Army Reserves for a number of years. After returning from active duty, Dan attended the University of Colorado at Boulder on the GI Bill, where he earned his B.A. in Business Administration. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, and met his wife, Agnes Jeanette West, of the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority at a fraternity party . They were married in Denver and were married for more than 50 years. His children, first son, Michael Daniel West and spouse Etta, his son Robert Summers West and children Reed and Brett West and daughter Rebecca Anne West, her spouse John Miazga and children Alex Miazga and Nicolai Miazga will miss him greatly. He was a patient and supportive father and grandpa, and was always surprisingly playful with children. After an initial attempt to make his living at selling insurance, Dan found his true career path working for Chevrolet. He began working there as a Stationary Clerk and worked his way up the ladder to Zone Manager over the course of his 35 year career with the company. During the course of his time with Chevrolet, he worked in Denver and Colorado Springs, CO; Detroit, MI; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; Fremont, CA; and Cleveland, OH. Dan was an active leader in the Boy Scouts, and a fantastic baseball coach. He served as head coach for several of his sons' teams and led one team, the Bloomfield Hills Braves, to the local Little League championship. He was very avid sports fan and advocate of Colorado teams, especially the CU Buffs, the Rockies, and the Broncos but also always maintained a special affinity for the Steelers, a carryover from his time spent in Pittsburgh. Dan had a tremendous love of all dogs, but especially his beloved border collies, Cassie 1 and Cassie 2. He loved to go to the Stock Show, and purchased tickets for the whole family every year for many years. He wrote very personalized and special thank-you notes. Dan was surprisingly computer-literate for someone of his generation, a great example of how open he was to learning new things all the way through his life. He was an avid gardener and plant lover. Dan was a also a prolific photographer who documented practically every moment of his family members' lives. In fact, it was difficult finding any photos of him during his middle years, because he was always behind the camera. He shot beautiful nature photos, and uncannily insightful candid photographs of people, which he far preferred to posed portraits. He left many, many photos. It's difficult to sum up who Dan West was as an individual, because he was so many things to so many people '"" but the constant element is that everyone held him in high regard. He was the supreme patriarch, not only for his immediate family, but also for his extended family, co-workers, and other colleagues. He was a natural leader and he exerted a powerful positive influence on so many people '"" family, fraternity buddies, colleagues from Chevrolet and the VFW, and more. He lived his life in 100% accordance with the values he held most dearly '"" family, country, self-reliance. He loved nature, and that was the essence of his spirituality. He didn't go to church in the second half of his life, but said the mountains were his cathedral, and he respected the cycle of life. He had a strong faith in nature, as a matter of fact, as an example of how the ""Good Lord"" takes care of us. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 21st at Horan & McConaty, 1091 S. Colorado Boulevard in Denver, Colorado to be followed by a military honors ceremony at 11:30 a.m. at Ft. Logan National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be sent to the VFW National Home for Children, 3573 S. Waverly Road Eaton Rapids, MI 48827 or the Border Collie Society of America Rescue Fund, 4729 Old Highgate Entry, Stone Mountain, Georgia, 30083.