Daniel Ivan Pittenger was 'Walking Encyclopedia' Who Loved Fishing, Traveling

Daniel Ivan Pittenger was born on Jan. 22, 1943, son to Ivan and Marcella (Wareham) Pittenger in Taylorville, Illinois.

Dan grew up in a military family, splitting his childhood between Taylorville and Norfolk, Virginia. He, too, became a military man joining the Air Force in 1964. He was deployed for Vietnam on Feb. 5, 1966, but not before proposing to Judy Hurtte - his soul mate. Dan was honorably discharged from the Air Force in May, 1968. Dan and Judy were married on June 11, 1967, in Taylorville. They started their life together in Homestead, FL before moving to Carbondale, IL, where Dan finished his engineering degree at SIU. They then moved north to Waukegan before spending 25 years in Libertyville. He spent his last 14 years in Richfield, WI.

In addition to serving his country, Dan served his community. He was actively involved in the VFW, American Legion, Jaycees, Boy Scouts of America (as a scout, earning the prestigious Eagle Scout Award, as a troop leader, and District Commissioner) and as a coach of the many sports his kids played while growing up.

Dan was also a "walking encyclopedia." He loved learning and sharing his knowledge on topics from history and philosophy, to science and agriculture, to engineering and sports ... there was no topic he wouldn't love to discuss with you! As for politics, you'd better have a few hours—we loved this about him. To his grandkids, "Grandpa with the Crab Hand" was a much better option than Google when a question needed to be answered and the Best Tour Guide no matter where we traveled. He was our hero!

Dan loved many things—the outdoors, fishing, hunting, camping, scuba diving and traveling. Most of all, Dan enjoyed spending time with Judy, his children and grandchildren.

On Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, God called him home. He is survived by the love of his life and wife of 46 and a half years, Judy; his children: Danette (Tom) Pahl-Miller, Shannon (Bob) Oitker, Erin (John) Edgington, Gareth Pittenger, Vanessa (John) Clark; and his 12 grandchildren: Braeden and Trevor Pahl; Nathan, Tyler, Aubrey and Brooke Oitker; Valerie, Abbie and Michael Edgington; and Alesandra, Johnathan and Alivia Clark. He is also survived by his mother, Marcella Pittenger, sister Dolores (Stephen) McLaughlin, father-in-law Rayford Hurtte, brother-in-law Jim (Donna) Hurtte, sister-in-law Janet (Jim) Nash, many nieces and nephews, as well as many amazing friends.

Dan was preceded in death by his father, Ivan Pittenger, and his mother-in-law Dorothy Hurtte. A visitation will be from 1 p.m. to time of services at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at Burnett-Dane Funeral Home Ltd., 120 W. Park Ave. (Route 176, one block west of Milwaukee Ave.), Libertyville. A celebration of his life will continue at Mickey Finn's, 412 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville. We ask you to bring memories and pictures to share.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make donations in his name to The Salvation Army (salvationarmyusa.org), The Wounded Warrior Project (woundedwarriorproject.org), or The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (www.bcrfcure.org). Info: 847-362-3009 or please sign the guest book at www.burnettdane.com.

—Burnett-Dane Funeral Home provided this information.