Daniel Carl Loper Dr.

1939 - 2024

Dr. Daniel Carl Loper passed away in his home, August 9, 2024, at the age of 85.
Dr. Dan Loper was born in Lodi, Wisconsin on the kitchen table on July 5, 1939. He grew up on a 120-acre farm where his family raised registered shorthorns. Dan went onto college at Iowa State where he was the student body vice president. He fondly remembered meeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Jimmy Hoffa while he was a student there.
Dr. Loper then went on to get his master's at the University of Kentucky and his doctorate in nutritional biochemistry at Kansas State. Upon receiving his Ph.D., Dan served three years in the Air Force at the Brooks School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio where he developed diets for the astronauts of Gemini and Apollo missions.
During his service, he was awarded the Airman's Medal (the highest non-combat award) for saving a woman and her four children from being stranded on top of their car during a flood. Captain Loper went hand over hand on a barbed wire fence to retrieve the family and get them to safety.
Upon completion of his service, Dr. Loper moved to California where he discovered the true love of his life…the dairy industry. Dan revolutionized the feeding of dairy cows by introducing the concept of a mixer truck, opening the door for dairy farmers to take more control of costs by mixing their own feed. He is credited with the creation of the Total Mixed Ration and is considered the 'Godfather of Modern Dairy Nutrition' by many. He owned and operated his dairies for thirty years with a passion for cows rivaled by few. Dr. Loper often said the happiest days of his life were working with dairy cows.
Few could match Dan's zeal for life, food, and sports as well as his innate curiosity and urge to find the solution to any problems he came across. "Can't" was not in Dan's vocabulary.
Dan was preceded in death by his mother, Violet; father, Stanley; and sister, Alice Jean.
He is survived by his ten children, Michelle and Tom Rhodes, Christine and Jeff Brusseau, Rachel Daniel, Matt and Hilary Stephans, Jon and Jan Loper, Travis and Jessica Loper, JD and Lacey Loper, Serena and Michael Salerno, Daniel and Karen Loper, and Sissy and Stegen Phillips; 26 grandchildren; two great grandchildren and numerous friends.
Visitation will be held on Friday, August 16, 2024, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm at The Chapel, 1500 Thornton St., Clovis, NM with Funeral Service to follow at 3:00 pm with Larry Hancock officiating. Burial will take place on Saturday, August 24, at 10:00 am at Old Dublin Memorial Park, Dublin, TX with Paul Gaudette officiating. Matt Stephans, Jon Loper, Travis Loper, JD Loper, John Land, and Daniel Loper will serve as pallbearers. Mike Humphrey, Smitty Humphrey, and Jimmy Montoya will serve as honorary pallbearers.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Muffley Funeral Home, www.muffleyfuneralhome.com, (575) 762-4435.