"Dan and I first met in Freshman physics. He was from Exeter and I from Lawrenceville. For sophomore year we decided to room together with the late Dave Sexton and wound up in a ground floor triple in 1901. Dan was the ideal roomie. He had a great sense of humor and sense of fun. He and I bickered into Charter, and lived in a double in Campbell during our upper class years. Dan was an admirer of “WINS 1010” radio’s DJ Cousin Brucie. He developed his own deep radio voice. Maybe you remember he had a regular gig on our WPRB campus station spinning tunes as “Big Daddy Dan”. He majored in social psychology, but because of his radio gig, usually wasn’t able to get to the sociology stuff till midnight. Turned out being a night owl wasn’t a problem. My first class was always at 8:40 but Dan’s never met till 10:40. During our upper class years we made numerous road trips together. In the summer of ’64 I drove to Piqua - Dan’s hometown - and met Dan’s parents, Al and Marjorie French - both wonderful people and pillars in the Piqua community. Back in 1900, Dan’s grandfather had founded French Oil Mill Company, employing several hundred local people making vegetable oil presses. Dan’s father Al became President in 1962, and flew his company’s light twin to customers throughout the US south and west. He also taught Dan to fly. During PU spring breaks Dan’s Dad would fly from Piqua to Princeton, pick us up, and then fly on to Naples, where the Frenchs had a beachfront condo. We had some fun times fishing, exploring the Everglades, and flying out to Bimini for SCUBA diving, and getting to know several women we met on the beach. 

 

"After our graduation in ’66, Dan served in the USAF for five years. He’d been Cadet commander of our ROTC unit, and was offered a regular rather than reserve commission. He served with distinction, including a year in Vietnam as computer officer at a base often under fire. While stationed in Hawaii in 1970, he met his future wife Margaret. (He was always pretty smooth on the beach!) Dan spent 23 years as a reservist, and was proud of his service to the nation. Returning to civilian life, Dan decided to join the family business, within a few years becoming President. Margaret is a strong and able person, and played an active role in the company. Dan and Margaret travelled extensively in Europe, South America and China, developing new vegetable oil and rubber production machinery business lines. My wife Cherry and I kept in touch with Dan and Margaret, and their children Peter and Tayte over the years, occasionally visiting them in Piqua and in the French family vacation home in Indian River, Michigan. They were invariably a great source of travel ideas and advice. Dan had a big heart. He always remembered birthdays. He believed devoutly in the importance of maintaining the French family commitment to their employees, and to Piqua’s civic life. When Dan and Margaret visited us in May of this year, we had great fun eating lobster – one of Dan’s favorites - and catching up. He seemed in fine fettle. But in July, he suddenly became seriously ill, and entered hospice in early September. Characteristically, Dan accepted his situation bravely and with resolve. He and I were able to talk by phone several times – reminiscing on how much we’d changed each other’s lives. Dan’s daughter Tayte will become CEO – so French Oil is in good hands. We all realize life is short. But I mourn the huge hole created in so many lives – including my own - by his passing."

 

"All of us have memories which seem to flow in and out of our reflection on life. Dan and his family are one of my most vivid.

 

"There was a weekend when he invited me to spend some time with his family. It began with a night at their home in Piqua, stories of their helping Christian churches during the communist take over of China, and a morning tour of the FOMMCO plant. Everyone said hello to Al, his father. 

 

"Then a flight with Dan, his mom and dad, to their lake cabin somewhere near the great lakes…a log cabin where we shared drinks out on the porch and talked about the future.

 

"It was in those moments that I became concern about who would follow in Dan’s father’s footsteps.

 

"As we all know who knew Dan, his smile and energy were exceptional.

 

"I followed his progress from a distance…for many years after our graduation, wondering about where fate would lead him and the memory of how much his father hoped his path would lead him back to Piqua.

 

"Those few days with Dan’s mom and dad are still vivid in my mind as are the memories of Dan’s enthusiasm for life.

 

"I will be always grateful to Dan for that weekend with his parents and every mindful of what a blessing family and tradition can be…to those who embrace both."