J. Dan Creswell

1931 - 2016

J. Dan Creswell
1931 ~ 2016
J. Dan Creswell, age 84, died of natural causes on April 7, 2016, at his son's home. Dan was born on June 2, 1931, in Boise, Idaho, the only child of Harry and Crystal Creswell. Dan went to school in Boise, graduating from Boise High School in 1949. He went on to the University of Idaho, earned his degree in architecture and was a lifelong Vandal.
After college and a stint in the Air Force as a fighter pilot, he went to work at an architectural firm in Boise and during that time he met and married Carol Burns. After working as an architect for a few years, Dan decided to do something he'd always wanted to do and bought a cattle ranch in the Pahsimeroi Valley near Challis. He'd never worked on a ranch a day in his life prior to buying one. Dan and Carol raised their family on the ranch and it was Dan's happiest time of life.
Dan and Carol then moved to McCall where their kids finished school. Dan was a great athlete and had been a competitive ski jumper and racer. He loved the McCall life, spending much of his time skiing, boating, waterskiing, mushroom hunting, fishing, hunting and camping. He also enjoyed traveling the Pacific Northwest and owned a large sailboat he docked in Anacortes, Washington. After McCall, Dan and Carol moved back to Boise.
In addition to athletics, Dan was a talented designer and craftsman. He did beautiful woodworking, including furniture, a large canoe, and a fishing boat. Dan also painted for a period of time and tied beautiful fishing flies and made his own fishing rods. He was constantly drafting plans for new projects and helping friends and family with original designs.
After Carol's untimely death in 1989, Dan moved to Brentwood, California to work with and be near his son, Matt. Dan lived in Brentwood for the remainder of his life, although he spent long periods of time in Boise. He also took several yearly trips with his fishing buddies and looked forward to their time together.
Dan is survived by his sons, Curt, Steve (Lisa), and Matt (Colleen) Creswell, and his daughter, Molly (Scott) Steckel, as well as his grandchildren, Kate, Jordan, Jeff and Gabe, and his longtime companion, Donna Lungren.
A graveside service will be held on Friday, April 15, at 10 am at Cloverdale Memorial Park Cemetery.
To share memories and leave condolences for the family, please visit Dan's memorial page at www.cloverdalefuneralhome.com