Dan Kinzler, Sr. Obituary (1935

Dan P. Kinzler, Sr., November 13, 1935 - July 6, 2024 Dan was preceded in death by his wife Linda H. Kinzler, his parents William T. and Alice L. Kinzler, his older brother Tom and younger sister Mary Alice. He is survived by his younger brother Joseph Kinzler. His four children, Patti (Mark) Hedin, Christine (Gerry) Seaman, Dan (Tonya) Kinzler, and Catherine Kinzler. His six grandchildren, Michael, Brittany, Eric, Matthew, Kelli, and Sherri. His thirteen great grandchildren and a huge number of extended family. Dan was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but over his lifetime he lived in numerous states in the US, Army Bases around the world, in countries including Korea, Germany, Thailand and Vietnam. After retiring from the Army he and Linda settled in Washington State and were residents of Bremerton for 45 years. Dan met and married Linda while he was stationed in South Korea. They married in 1955 and as Dan loved to say, they were married for 60 years and 100 days. Dan's love for Linda was incredibly deep. He referred to her as his best friend, his Yobo, his "One and Only". As a tribute to his "One and Only" Dan was inspired to write his memoir which describes their life together and their love story. Dan retired in 1974, at Ft. Lewis, Washington, after serving 20 years in the US Army. During his career in the Army, he did two tours of duty in Vietnam. His first tour was in 1968 and his second in 1972. Dan had many responsibilities while on tour in Vietnam and internal operations communication traffic in South Vietnam, often in a combat situation, was a big one. Dan was responsible for communications during the TET offensive, which was one of the more well-known offensive operations. After Dan retired from the Army his first step was to go back to college. He wanted to learn more about business while he figured out what his next move would be. While in the Army Dan was in communications technology, heavily involved with mainframe computers and his next career would also be in technology but in a different vein. He began working for Monroe Business Equipment where he sold business machines. This was a time when LED calculators were considered cutting edge technology. Although he was extremely successful, it required a great deal of travel and Dan was ready to settle down. Dan left Monroe Business Equipment and pursued a flourishing career at Hazelwood Auto Center, selling cars. Again, he was so successful, he won salesman of the month 35 times in 4 years and salesman of the year 3 times. Unfortunately, his success came at a price, and he suffered a heart attack leaving him off work for 3 months. Dan made a full recovery and worked at Hazelwood for another two years. But Dan was always up for a challenge and decided to try his hand at selling manufactured homes while working for Buy-Rite Manufactured Homes in Sequim. He really loved his work and was so successful he decided to move to Sequim. He lived in Sequim for quite a few years and loved life on the Olympic Peninsula. Dan retired from Buy-Rite to lots of hoopla. He honestly intended to retire but soon realized that he was not ready to stop working. Being a true rolling stone, and not one to sit still, he embarked on his final career by going to work at Diamond Construction. Diamond Construction was owned and operated by Del Gott, a man who would become Dan's lifelong friend. He described their relationship as being much like brothers. Dan oversaw the start to finish phases of a project required to set up a manufactured home and more. This might include septic systems, foundations, excavation, driveways, garages and much more. He spent many happy years at Diamond Construction before he finally retired "for real". After his retirement he and his good friend "Delbert" continued to have lunch together and play a round of golf, remaining great friends to the end. At about the age 70, after retiring from Diamond Construction, his youngest daughter Cathy came up with the brilliant idea of introducing Dan to golf. It was a great way to keep this rolling stone busy and get him out of the house. So, she bought him his first set of golf clubs on Father's Day and the rest is history. A fanatic was born and his passion for golf was unmatched. He was forever grateful to Cathy for introducing him to the game of golf. He made sure to thank her every time they played together, saying it gave him a purpose in his retirement. If Dan wasn't playing golf, he was watching it on TV! He loved golf so much that in addition to the golf club set he had at home, he also left a set of clubs in PA, CA, and HI. If he didn't already have a set of clubs at his destination, he would send them ahead of his arrival. Everywhere he went, he golfed, and he was lucky enough to have many family members and friends of all ages that he loved to golf with. But he was never happier than when Linda would go with him, packing lunch for them and driving the cart. Dan loved to travel, and some of his favorite vacation spots were Reno, Las Vegas, WA D.C., Sacramento, Pittsburgh, and Kauai. He enjoyed these places so much because he had family and friends at each location. He would enjoy golfing, sightseeing and spending time with good friends and family on his many trips. Going back to Pittsburgh to spend time with his kid brother Joe was especially important to Dan. He truly loved his little brother Joe and loved it whenever they were able to golf together. Joe, with his big heart, always made sure big brother Dan had a great time on these visits. Happily, the two of them were able to golf 18 holes together just a few weeks before Dan passed, when he made his very last trip home to Pittsburgh this June. As they played their last round of golf on that trip, and hit the 18th hole, they both knew this particular game was very special and was most likely their last one together. Dan went back every spring to help celebrate the birthdays of his kid brother and his brother's wife Butch. He loved the annual Halloween party his niece Shelly held every year. Picking out just the right costume was a big deal. During these visits back home to Pittsburgh Dan would get an opportunity to see his many nieces and nephews and he always loved this. Dan's very good friend from his days in the Army, Larry Hogan, who passed away many years ago left behind several children. He loved them all and would often go back to visit. Larry's son Mike, who was also in the Army, hosted Dan in D.C. on many occasions. Dan would stay with Mike and his wife Suzanne, and these trips always included family get togethers, trips to West Point, to New York, to many historical sites on the east coast, Army/Navy football games and of course golfing along the way. Larry's son Joe hosted Dan many times over the years as well, either in Las Vegas or in Kauai. Golfing was always on the agenda of course. Joe and his wife Serena spoiled Dan whenever he came to stay with them in Kauai, which was often, and he loved it and them. He thought of all these children as more than the children of one of his best friends, he considered them all family. Dan was also a huge fan of the game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. No matter where he was or who he was visiting, at 7:00pm he would be tuning into his favorite shows. He loved them so much it was hard not to get sucked in if you were watching with him. Dan Jr. was his game show side kick for many, many years. Every night at 7:00pm, even though he was in the same house, Dan would text Dan Jr. saying "Wheel Time!" and Dan Jr. would drop whatever he was doing and join him. When Dan loved something, he was all in and that included sweets. Dan had a huge, sweet tooth. He had dessert almost every single night and that would include cake, ice cream, blizzards, cookies and donuts. Dan also had a passion for books. He was an avid reader and loved authors like Clive Cussler, James Michener, and Tom Clancy. His home is lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves holding hundreds of his books. He was always proud that his children had his love of reading as well. At the age of 80 he began writing his memoir which he completed and published in 2023, at the age of 88. Dan was never a drinker. But, late in life, he acquired a love of wine. Once again, driven by his passion for vino, Dan, with the help of Dan Jr. and Cathy, designed and built an elaborate wine closet. He loved to "pop a top" as he would often say and enjoy a glass of his favorite Malbec accompanied by a hot cup of black coffee. After Linda passed, Dan spent even more time with family than before. He loved his weekly Monday night dinners with his eldest daughter Patti and the Pancake House was one of his favorite haunts. Every year he would make multiple trips to Sacramento and Kauai, to visit Christine and golf with her husband Gerry and his grandson Mike. His youngest daughter Cathy would regularly take him out to dinner followed by a trip to the local theater for concerts and plays. He loved getting his mani/pedi at the local day spa with his daughter-in-law Tonya who was known to pamper him. Dan attended Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Bremerton every Sunday and every Monday morning Dan gave his time to the church as a "Prayer Warrior". He was a member of the Perpetual Adoration Team, for many years. After Sunday church services Dan loved coming home to a big breakfast which Dan Jr. and his daughter-in-law Tonya always had waiting for him. Family was extremely important to Dan, as he would always say, as he looked around, "I'm so lucky, we were just two dumb kids and look at us now!" He built lifetime friendships at every stage of his life and loved to keep in touch via Facebook. Dan was an extremely positive individual, and one of his favorite sayings was "If it gets any better than this, it's a setup!" Arrangements entrusted to Lewis Funeral Chapel in Bremerton, Washington. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to your favorite charity or to cancer research.