Daniel Edouard Georges Sailer

Daniel Edouard Georges Sailer was born in Paris, France on October 5, 1945. His father Martin Sailer was part of the American invasion forces that liberated Paris from Nazi occupation in 1944. His mother Jacqueline Bellay was a resident of Paris who married the soldier who helped free her beloved country. After primary school and three years of secondary education on the grounds of Versailles palace, Dan moved to the U.S. with his mother and brother Kent Sailer in 1959.

He enrolled in Haaren High School in Manhattan. As captain of the school soccer team, he led this school to its first citywide soccer championship in fall 1961. As a gift to his teammates, Dan wrote up the highlights of each game of the championship round in the style of a professional sports writer. Then he created a commemorative booklet and presented a copy to each of his teammates. In 1962, Dan started his studies at NYU with a full-support soccer scholarship. He went on to captain their Division I soccer team from 1964 to 1966 and in 1965 he was awarded an MVP award for his soccer skills. In 1966 he became the NYU freshman soccer coach until a Vietnam-era draft landed him in the army in 1967. He made the best of that two-year term of duty and departed from honorable military service with a wife (Mary V. Sailer) and a National Defense Service Medal. After settling in New Jersey, he worked his way through a hierarchy of youth management jobs to become director of residential services for St. Dominic’s Home for troubled adolescents. He was widely recognized as the “go to” problem-solver and creative force whenever challenging conditions emerged. Each resident felt the influence of his energy, his optimism, his generosity and his high moral character. Despite a full plate, Dan also took on a master’s program in public administration, graduating from Marist University in 1997.

Dan and Mary raised four sons (Christian, Marc, Eric, Craig) and Dan taught each of them every soccer skill that he knew. Those sons, in turn, became the parents of Peyton and Logan (Christian and Amy), Kieran and Penelope (Christian and Talia), Griffin and Colton (Marc and Wendy), Jack and Ryan (Eric and Lisa), Avery and Madeline (Craig and Jennifer) where the soccer tradition continues. While living in Hillsdale and Barnegat, NJ, Dan collected decades of youth coaching, management and refereeing experience, at every level from kindergarten through high school. His reputation as an effective and caring coach drew accolades from parents and the league’s management. The players all wanted to be on his team. For almost three decades, he served as the president of the Hillsdale Soccer Association. He also co-founded and served on the board of the Pascack Valley Indoor Soccer League.

In 2012, he moved to Tallahassee Florida and in 2015 married Elizabeth H Peters (whom he first met on the soccer field of Newtown High School in 1961). Once again, he coached a series of soccer teams for the YMCA, Tallahassee Parks and Recreation, and the Top of Florida Soccer Club. Even after diabetes compromised his running ability, his brainpower allowed him to continue as an assistant coach for local youth teams. He was an eager participant in FSU’s Osher Lifelong Learning programs and made new friends as he developed his history and language skills. He loved to display his comprehensive repertoire of detailed information about these and other subjects, as evidenced by his eagerness to correctly answer most of Alex Trebek’s Jeopardy questions every evening. His friends tended to be lifelong and come from a diversity of international backgrounds. Some of them shared his eagerness to cheer for the NY Yankees and the NY Rangers as well as the French national soccer team and the British soccer team Arsenal.

On Sept 8, 2020, Dan passed into the hands of God and left behind all those who mourn his loss. He is survived by his brother, Kent (Ana); his four children; his nine grandchildren and by the many, many other people who loved him. The best memorial to his life will be for all who knew him to recreate the kindness and the generosity of spirit that he always radiated during his own lifetime.

Due to Covid-19 social gathering restrictions, Dan’s interment will be a private ceremony on Sept. 21, 2020 at the Tallahassee National Cemetery. This will be followed by an in-person full military burial in the spring/summer when Covid limitations are lifted. Check back to this website for more details or contact [email protected].