Daniel J. Fontanini

Daniel J. Fontanini
November 23, 1948 - March 29, 2025
Dan Fontanini has crossed the finish line of his ultra-marathon race with
Parkinson's to his final reward in Paradise. Dan was born in Salem to Shirley
(Dickey) Fontanini and Aldo (Tony) Fontanini, and attended St. Vincent's Grade
School, Parrish Middle School, and graduated from North Salem High School in
1967. Dan graduated from OSU with a bachelor's degree in science. In 1972,
he worked at OSU's Radiation Biology lab until September 1973, when he
attended the University of Oregon's Medical School and graduated on August
30, 1974, with a degree in Medical Technology.
In September 1974, Dan was hired.as a medical technologist by Salem Health
Laboratory. In the 1990's, he was promoted to manager of the hospital's
Laboratory Information Systems where he worked until he retired in June
2006.
When Dan was 42, he signed up to do a Hood-To-Coast relay race. The
HTC experience began his passion for running. One year his Hood-to
Coast team "The Colts" finished in the top ten of the masters division. He
added cycling to his training. Inspired by running and cycling, Dan decided
to train to become a more efficient swimmer in order to compete in
triathlons. He did 30 years of running, cycling, and swimming events.
Dan's running highlights include years of marathons such as Boston,
Seattle, Eugene, Corvallis, Portland, Napa Valley, Victoria. He did two 50
mile ultra-marathons. His first ultra was California's Old Pueblo Trail run
and his second ultra was the Leadville 100 run in the Colorado Rockies.
Dan was part of a team that ran a 179-mile Klondike Trail relay race from
Banff to Jasper in Canada. Dan's triathlon highlights include 3 Ironman
races (Canada, Lake Stevens, Vineman). Dan hiked the Grand Canyon
"rim-to-rim-to-rim" with friends. They started at the south rim, hiked to the
north rim and stayed two nights, and hiked back to the south rim.
For 30 years, Dan's daily routine started at "The Gov Cup" drinking coffee
with his friends. One of his friends, Bill Fox, had a FB Memorial page and
Bill's daughter, Sue Fox posted: "My dad had a lot of friends and one who
he really treasured was Dan Fontanini…Dan showed up for my dad (and
mom) when my dad was getting worse with his Alzheimer's. At that time,
my mom was caring for my dad at home. Dan took him out for lunch and a
walk, giving my dad some entertainment and my mom much needed time
alone."
Dan also volunteered to go on two mission trips to Oaxaca. His first
mission trip was to pour concrete floors in homes that had dirt floors. His
second mission trip was to "Pimpollo", a Catholic orphanage, where he
joined a team to build lockers for the children and redo the electrical wiring.
Dan also volunteered at the Salem Free Clinics in medical records.
Dan married Paula Scheyer on March 17, 1973, in Salem, Oregon. He is
survived by his wife, Paula, of 52 years, his nephew, Matteo (Kendahl), his
niece, Luciana (Tony) and his mother-in-law, JoAn, brothers-in-law, Joe
(Linda) and Bob (Lois), and sister-in-law Malinda (Tom). Paula is deeply
grateful for Blissful Venture Senior Care where Dan received loving and
professional care during the last 10 months of his life.
Paula asks that donations be made to the non-profits where Dan
volunteered. https://salemfreeclinics.org/donate/
https://www.friendsofpimpollo.org/donate.html

Arrangements entrusted to City View Funeral Home