Daniel Quillian III

Watkinsville, GA - On Tuesday, February 20, 2007, Dan Quillian, III, born March 2, 1928, began the greatest bowhunt of his life.
Dan was the son of D. D. and Maude Smith Quillian. He got his love of the woods and nature from his father, who taught him woodcraft of all kinds. Dan was an ardent student of birds of prey and snakes of all kinds, and he passed on his knowledge and love of nature by teaching at Boy Scout and other camps, and the Big Y. He also held a National position on The Boy Scout board.
Dan found another love in archery and designed and sold bows of all types: compound, recurve and traditional (stick bows), which he loved the most.
Dan was a successful competitor in instinctive and free-style archery and worked with, taught and helped thousands of bowhunters and archers in his bow clinics, both locally and nationally. Dan conducted studies of consistently successful bowhunters, their techniques and equipment.
Dan had an internationally known business specializing in all types of archery products, and ran an indoor archery range and pro shop. He produced a videotape on traditional archery and marketed it in the U.S. and abroad.
In addition to hunting in the United States, Dan also hunted in New Zealand, British Columbia, Alaska, and with his son D. D. in South Africa, from which they brought home many trophies.
The January 2001 twenty-fifth anniversary issue of Archery Business Magazine named Dan Quillian, along with Fred Bear, Ben Pearson, etc., one of the twenty-five most influential archers of the last twenty-five years.
In 1998, Dan was given a one-of-a-kind Lifetime Achievement Award by the Traditional Bowhunters of Georgia.
Dan harvested a large number of whitetail deer with compounds, recurves and longbows. He took eleven big game species with the bow and arrow, and for many years was a member of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association (SOPA), and the Outdoor Writer's Association of America (OWAA). He won the Georgia Game and Fish Commission's Sportsmen's Award given by WSB radio several times. He was five-time president of the Georgia Bowhunters Association and served on the National Field Archery Association's National Bowhunting Committee.
Dan put the first tree stand on the market and helped popularize tree stand hunting. He was instrumental in getting the first statewide bowhunting season in the South (Georgia) and fought to keep it. He contributed to and supported good game management in other ways, whenever possible.
Dan led a wonderful life, beginning with exceptional parents. He is survived by wife, Sue Skelton Quillian; children, Patricia A. (Candy) Quillian, of Sedona, AZ, Carol and husband Downing Bethune, of Portland, OR, D. D. Quillian, IV and wife Leah, of Watkinsville, and Dr. Cathleen Quillian-Carr and husband Jack, of Watkinsville; grandchildren, Caitlin and Tristan Whitaker, of Sedona, AZ, Jim and Dana Bethune, of Portland, OR, Kellyn and Caroline Quillian, of Watkinsville, Sarah McAuliffe, of Hayesville, NC, and Anna and Lawson Carr, of Watkinsville; sister, Carol Quillian Buchanan and husband Clayton, of Fernandina Beach, FL.
Graveside services will be Saturday, February 24, 2007 at 1:00 PM at Oconee Hill Cemetery with Revs. G. Richard Hoard and Wesley Stephens officiating.
The family will receive friends Friday from 6:00 until 8:00 PM at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Oconee River Methodist Church, 1381 Windy Creek Drive, Watkinsville, GA 30677.
Lord and Stephens, WEST, is in charge of arrangements.