Coping with Grief
We would like to offer our sincere support to anyone coping with grief. Enter your email below for our complimentary daily grief messages. Messages run for up to one year and you can stop at any time. Your email will not be used for any other purpose.
DANIEL G. SOLTIS, age 93, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family Friday, March 18, 2022. Beloved husband of Barbara for 68 years. Loving father of Dale G. Soltis (Ann), Brian J. Soltis, and Jill A. Graydon (Peter). Devoted grandfather of Quinn Soltis, Andrew, Daniel, and Benjamin Soltis, Kyle Graydon (Lexie), and Emily Seme (Nicholas).
Family and Friends will be received at NOSEK-McCREERY FUNERAL HOME, 8150 BRECKSVILLE RD., BRECKSVILLE, OH 44141 on Monday, March 28, 2022 from 4-6 p.m. followed by a service at 6 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Daniel's memory to The City Mission-Cleveland, 5310 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland, OH 44103 or The Nature Conservancy, Attn: Treasury, 4245 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203 would be appreciated.
A Life Well Lived
Picture yourself at your 90th birthday party...
Would you be surrounded by friends and loved ones?
Would you look back proudly at your inventions that affected the world?
Maybe smile at the memories of your incredible adventures to places unknown?
Or would you reminisce about funny stories that became legends?
Daniel George Soltis was able to do all of these.
He was born December 9, 1928 to George and Mildred Soltis in Lakewood, Ohio. Even though he always said he was born in a cabbage patch. His younger brother, George, soon followed with personality big enough to fill a room. Lakewood, at the time, was a small town with a large diverse community. Dan always was a hard worker, even as a child. He started as a newspaper delivery boy. Then during WW II, he would ride his bike up and down the streets making sure all the curtains were closed to abide by the black-out rules. He lived with a multigenerational family supported by his father's Butcher Shoppe. Lots of Dan's stories as a child and young man revolve around that store and his time working there. His Grandfather was a Lutheran minister and instilled in him a good moral compass. Dan took it upon himself to teach his family The Golden Rule and surely followed it himself. His favorite poem, Desiderata, talks about living a life with values and morals and taking care of your loved ones as a priority.
He attended Lakewood High School and was quite an athlete. Football was his primary sport. He was a hulking 145 pound offensive lineman who surly could hold his own. The team was the State Runner up his senior year in 1946. Dan's claim to fame was single handedly blocking former Ohio State legend, Frank Janowic's, field goal and liked to remind us of this triumph.
After High School, he attended Ohio Wesleyan University, studied Chemistry and met the love of his life Barbara Jean Koepke. She became his bride in 1953 and were married for 68 years. They displayed a true love until his very last day. He was one to bring home flowers just because he knew Barbara loved them. They held hands long after most would have put that sentiment aside. The way he looked at her was with such love and devotion that it was something to behold. They laughed, loved and were the ultimate life partners. They truly were soul mates. Dan and Barbara built their life around their 3 children: Dale, Brian, and Jill. Dan and Barbara could not have set a better example of what a good marriage should look and feel like. They created a very close family with Dale, Brian, and Jill as their children. And were blessed with six grandchildren whom they loved and adored: Andy, Danny, Ben, Kyle, Emily, and Quinn.
In 1951, Dan joined the military. He began in the Army reserves, though he had the opportunity to join the U.S. Coast Guard and became part of a special program for college graduates called the 120 Day Wonders. He was assigned to the U.S. Cutter Pontchatrain where he became the Navigator. Dan captivated us all with stories from his time in the military including 50 foot waves in the Pacific and navigating by looking at stars. Barbara always told Dan that he "had a compass in his nose." Dan left the Service as a Lieutenant.
In 1960, Dan and Barbara bought a piece of property in rural Richfield. Dan built their beautiful home board by board and stone by stone. The family lived there for 17 years until moving to Barbara's family home in Broadview Heights. While in Richfield, he was very active with the community and was even elected a Councilman when Richfield became a Village. There is even a park in Richfield called Richfield Woods that Dan had the honor of naming. The Broadview Heights home is a place where everyone loves to gather. So many memories of parties and fun around the fire pit by the lake. These beautiful acres have housed dogs, cats, cattle, and horses. No one comes to their home without reacting to its beauty.
Dan loved to travel and has been to almost every State in our country from Maine to California. As a family we covered most of it in a camper or tent. Fishing, hiking, and exploring were how we traveled. Barbara and Dan continued to travel to exotic places: Spain, Germany, Austria, the Caribbean, and many Providences in Canada.
Dan worked for Union Carbide after his time in the military and developed his first patent, The Cathodic Envelope, which was later used by Polaroid in their cameras. Later he joined NASA where he was head of the Electro-Chemical Section. He and his team worked on the Hubble Telescope Project, a proposed project to put a probe on Venus, and a project that helped develop the ability for the Space Station to stay in orbit, to just name a few. He was there during the height of the Space Race in the 60's and 70's.
After retirement, Barbara and Dan continued to travel and purchased a nice cruising boat for Lake Erie. They loved their time with the boat and the friends they made.
It is so difficult to put into words the life of an amazing man like Daniel. There was not a problem he couldn't solve or an object he couldn't fix. He was truly present in every moment and had an incredible sense of humor. Even in his last week of life, he told me this joke...
Where did King Arthur keep his camels? In the Camel lot.
Words to describe him by family and friends:
Kind, Creative, Gentle, Intelligent, Proud of his family, always made you feel welcome in his home. And as Barbara described him "as Dear."
The rest of his family just describe him as an incredible father and grandfather who we were so proud to call our own.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Daniel G. Soltis, please visit our floral store.