Daniel F. McQueen was born April 6, 1939 in Mars, PA to Samuel and Lela Lee McQueen. He is survived by his loving wife Anne McQueen; his son Kevin McQueen; daughter Kara Rolfe; his six grandchildren, Kelsey McQueen, Sean McQueen, Logan Rolfe, Margaret Rolfe, Kaitlin Rolfe and Andrew Rolfe; and his sister Ruth Cestoni.
Dan was the youngest of 11 children and grew up in Mars, PA. He attended Mars High School and played football, basketball and baseball for the Mars Planets. After high school, he was drafted in the Army and served two years in Germany. Upon return, Dan attended Slippery Rock University and graduated in 1963 with a degree in Mathematics. He taught Mathematics for a year before beginning his job as an Analyst at the National Security Agency where he met Anne. Anne and Dan were married on August 28, 1965 and in 1968, they were transferred to Cheltenham, England for Dan’s job at NSA. They spent three years traveling through Europe and returned to the U.S. in 1971 and bought their lifelong home in Columbia, MD.
Dan was a devoted father and spent his free time coaching his son’s baseball and basketball teams, and was a Troop Leader for the Boys Scouts. He rebuilt several houses for Habitat for Humanity, and enjoyed taking his family on summer vacations, especially to Chincoteague, VA. He retired at 55 and devoted his free time to his many passions, which included running, hiking, bicycling, kayaking, golfing, traveling and spending time with his grandchildren. Dan was an avid runner and ran 5 miles every day. He finished three marathons and also participated in many Volksmarches. His other accomplishments include climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt. Rainer (Washington State), Mt. Washington (New Hampshire), Mt. Aconcagua (Argentina), Mt. Fuji (Japan) and Mt. Kosciuszko (Australia). He hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, the John Muir Trail, The Swiss Bernese Oberland (Switzerland), the Inca Trail (Peru), the Chillkott Trail (British Columbia), the Milford Track in New Zealand and he trekked to the Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal. He bicycled many amazing and grueling routes including the 1776 trail from Maryland to Oregon, from Prague to Budapest, all over France including many of the famous Tour De France climbs, through Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, a tricky trip cycling through Cuba, up and down the Scottish Highlands, through the Florida Keys, and through all the National Parks in the West, from Bordeaux, France to Barcelona, Spain, the Baha Peninsula, the entire South Island of New Zealand, and from Telluride to Moab. Soon after he retired, he built his own sea kayak and kayaked all through the Chesapeake Bay and along the coast of Maine. He canoed the Saranac Lakes, across the Florida Everglades, down the Allagash, St. John’s, Potomac and Rio Grande Rivers as well as the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. He traveled the world and visited the Great Wall of China, scuba dove the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, did an African Safari, visited Antarctica, and toured Russia.
Dan enjoyed spending time with his grandkids and went to many baseball games, dance recitals, swim meets, and basketball games. He volunteered at Camp Sunshine in Maine to help families afflicted with his grandson’s disease, Fanconi Anemia (FA). He also participated in multiple fundraisers to raise money for FA.
Dan was deeply religious and passionately studied the bible. He was a Born Again Christian and was very active in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. He became a vegan and devoted his lifestyle to following the Word of God. He prided himself on being self-reliant and on his active lifestyle, and he never saw a doctor in the last 45 years. He was a meticulous record keeper and those that knew him said he did not have a mean bone in his body. Through all his amazing accomplishments, his most prized achievement was his family. He sat at the head of the table for every family gathering and told the table and God how blessed he was for his amazing family.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be mailed to the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund at 360 E. 10th Avenue, Suite 201, Eugene, Oregon 97401 or by visiting Fanconi.org.
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