Doug Kerr
Well-known member
Yesterday (2011.09.24) we had the sad duty of attending the funeral of our good friend Dan Greene, who died at the age of 79.
We had met Dan and his charming and capable wife Charletta at a social dance club in Dallas, and we socialized with them often. A favorite joint outing was to concerts of the Dallas Wind Symphony.
Dan's first two careers were with the United States military, first with the US Navy (he served in the Korean theater) and then, after his retirement from the Navy, for many years with the US Air Force (he served in Vietnam). He retired with the rank of Chief Master Sergeant.
After his retirement from the Air Force, he earned a degree in Construction Management, and went to work for the City of Dallas, which was at the time embarking on an ambitious program of building and park construction.
He became a Resident Construction Superintendent under a new system of project management introduced by the City, in which a single person was "embedded" in major construction projects with responsibility for overall management of the activity. For us, his masterwork was the Myerson Symphony Center, one of the world's great concert halls, built under his supervision.
During his civilian life, Dan decided that his aviation career had lacked one element, and he took up recreational skydiving. On his second solo dive, the chute (packed by someone else) malfunctioned and did not open. He said it gave him a new understanding of the ballistician's concept of "terminal velocity".
But he survived, and after an arduous recovery returned to normal life. He had to walk with a cane, but he points out that this was not always a bad thing, as was discovered by a young thug who attempted to mug him while he was traveling.
Dan was interested in many fields, had an encyclopedic memory, and was quite a poet and a consummate storyteller. He was an award-winning collector of edged weapons (swords and such). He had a heart of gold, and would help anyone. But he did not suffer fools gladly.
Dan was interred with military honors at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas. At his widow's request, I covered it fairly thoroughly (!). This is one of my favorite shots, as a young Senior Airman from the honor guard presents the folded flag to Dan's widow, Charletta. (Charletta later commented that Dan would have required it to be redone, as the stars were not properly aligned.)
Douglas A. Kerr: In the name of the President . . .
Alongside Charletta are their son and daughter; to our right are three nieces (one's face hidden). The redhead (far r.) shoots an EOS 5D Mark II in her photographic practice.
We shall miss Dan Greene very much.
Best regards,
Doug
We had met Dan and his charming and capable wife Charletta at a social dance club in Dallas, and we socialized with them often. A favorite joint outing was to concerts of the Dallas Wind Symphony.
Dan's first two careers were with the United States military, first with the US Navy (he served in the Korean theater) and then, after his retirement from the Navy, for many years with the US Air Force (he served in Vietnam). He retired with the rank of Chief Master Sergeant.
After his retirement from the Air Force, he earned a degree in Construction Management, and went to work for the City of Dallas, which was at the time embarking on an ambitious program of building and park construction.
He became a Resident Construction Superintendent under a new system of project management introduced by the City, in which a single person was "embedded" in major construction projects with responsibility for overall management of the activity. For us, his masterwork was the Myerson Symphony Center, one of the world's great concert halls, built under his supervision.
During his civilian life, Dan decided that his aviation career had lacked one element, and he took up recreational skydiving. On his second solo dive, the chute (packed by someone else) malfunctioned and did not open. He said it gave him a new understanding of the ballistician's concept of "terminal velocity".
But he survived, and after an arduous recovery returned to normal life. He had to walk with a cane, but he points out that this was not always a bad thing, as was discovered by a young thug who attempted to mug him while he was traveling.
Dan was interested in many fields, had an encyclopedic memory, and was quite a poet and a consummate storyteller. He was an award-winning collector of edged weapons (swords and such). He had a heart of gold, and would help anyone. But he did not suffer fools gladly.
Dan was interred with military honors at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas. At his widow's request, I covered it fairly thoroughly (!). This is one of my favorite shots, as a young Senior Airman from the honor guard presents the folded flag to Dan's widow, Charletta. (Charletta later commented that Dan would have required it to be redone, as the stars were not properly aligned.)
Douglas A. Kerr: In the name of the President . . .
full metadata
Alongside Charletta are their son and daughter; to our right are three nieces (one's face hidden). The redhead (far r.) shoots an EOS 5D Mark II in her photographic practice.
We shall miss Dan Greene very much.
Best regards,
Doug
