Stice, James Daniel 'Dan'

James Daniel “Dan” Stice, 82, died Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, at West Village Care Center in Independence, Iowa. A memorial service will be held at The Church of Christ United in Winthrop at 4 p.m. Feb. 6. The family will greet friends at the church from 3:30 until service time. In the spirit of celebration, family members will gather at a later date to place Dan's ashes in a place he has chosen. Family members and Kay Norman of Winthrop, Dan's best friend and companion for the past seven years, were with him the last days and hours of his passing.

Dan was born Dec. 2, 1927, in Long Beach, Calif., to Lawrence and Gertrude Stice. Dan was raised in Swan Creek and Monmouth, Ill. He married Gretchen Shirck, a marriage which brought four children. They were later divorced, yet they have often shared celebration of proud moments and special times with their family throughout the years.

Dan served in the United States Army during the Korean War. He received a Bachelor of Science degree at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ill., and a master's degree in chemistry at The University of Wisconsin in Madison. Dan completed a Jurist Doctorate at William Mitchell Law School in St. Paul, Minn.

Dan began his career at the U.S. Patent Office, Crystal City, Va. He continued his career at Shell Oil in San Francisco, Calif., then General Mills and 3M companies in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Dan then left the corporate world and began to build his own business as a New Products consultant. As a self-employed entrepreneur, Dan was able to enjoy his love for traveling as he conducted business in many cities, states and countries. He had a wonderful memory for and knowledge of the places he traveled. One of Dan's greatest professional accomplishments was as a founder and first president of LES (Licensing Executive Society), which today has over 10,000 members.

In addition to his dear friend, Kay Norman of Winthrop, those surviving to honor his memory are sons, Jim (Marcia Reiter) Stice of North Oaks, Minn., and their children, Mark Stice of St. Peter, Minn., and Jenny Stice of North Oaks, Minn., and Steve (Tracey) Stice of Athens, Ga., and their children, Danielle Stice of Boston, Mass., and Phil Stice and Claire Stice, both of Athens, Ga.; daughters, Julie (Ed) Johnson of White Bear Lake, Minn., and Ellen (Joseph) Holtwick of Cedar Rapids, and their daughters, Jackie (Chris) Longner of Burnsville, Minn., and Diana Holtwick of Iowa City. Also surviving are his sisters, Nancy (Roy) Thompson and Suzan (Mitch) Roden; as well as several nieces and nephews. A special cousin, Ann Carlisle, also survives.

Dan was preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence Stice and Gertrude Woods Stice.

Dan's grandchildren were his greatest pride and joy. Dan was an absolutely fantastic Grandpa. He took great interest in and supported all of his grandchildren's goals and aspirations.

Dan was an individual like many have never met and challenging to describe. He was always thinking of new ventures. He never retired; in fact he was still working on one of his latest visions during his last weeks and days of life. One of his greatest joys was working side by side with his sons on projects in the business world.       

Dan's interests were numerous and varied. One of Dan's passions was playing card games. He had many a friend during all the times of his life who will remember his enjoyment of a good game of cards.

Dan will be truly missed by all of his family; we have always known this to be true. He has left us with many a fond memory and fun story to tell.

The family wishes to give heartfelt thanks to all of the individuals at West Village Care Center in Independence for all of their tender care of Dan. Our appreciation goes beyond words.

In lieu of flowers, Dan would have requested memorials be sent to Camp Courageous in Monticello.

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