Daniel W. Kaplan

1932 - 2025

Daniel W. Kaplan of Pittsfield, MA died peacefully early Sunday morning October 12, 2025, surrounded by his family. Born on October 5, 1932 to Tillie (Alter) and Max Kaplan, Dan began his life in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in the Bronx. A graduate of Bronx High School of Science, he attended City College (NY) where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. Dan proudly fulfilled his draft duty in the U.S. Army where he served in the U.S. and Europe from 1955 to 1957. He began a career as a mechanical engineer for Mack Trucks, and then moved to General Electric, where he spent the next thirty years, until he retired.

On Memorial Day Weekend, 1959, Dan met Rita Rudich at the Laurels, in the Catskills. They married on February 28, 1960. Dan and Rita moved six times in their first six years of marriage - zigzagging across the country from Pittsfield and Virginia to California and Illinois - and they took pride in sharing that astonishing fact with family and friends. They returned to Pittsfield in 1966 with their baby daughter, Tina. In the next few years, they welcomed Michael and Lauren into their home at 56 Anita Drive. They remained there on Anita Drive until they moved to Kimball Farms in Lenox, MA at the end of 2020.

Dan adored living in the Berkshires and enjoyed raising his family outside of the congestion and busyness of the city. A devoted father and husband, Dan believed firmly in his values. He was especially devoted to the Jewish community and had a very strong work ethic. He lived these values, a model for his children and his six grandchildren. A diligent homeowner, Dan was a skilled handyman and rarely called on contractors or professionals for help around the house or with his car. Over the years, the array of projects included everything from numerous home repairs, and changing oil in his cars to fully renovating their kitchen, and even putting an addition onto the family's house as a retirement project. Dan and Rita were loyal volunteers at Tanglewood, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, and they delighted in showing their "city" friends the treasures of the Berkshires.

If you knew Dan Kaplan, you knew that being an engineer was a shoe that fit. His work at Pittsfield GE was constructive, practical, analytical, and focused. He spent much of his career between his drafting desk and the machine-shop floor, designing, engineering, and manufacturing submarine technology. He loved to be involved in a myriad of design and manufacturing projects, including working directly with the teams on the shop floor to guide machining, welding, and forming. It was a joy for him.

He and Rita were active and devoted members of Congregation Knesset Israel and the local Jewish community. Dan was a long-standing member of the Knesset Israel Cemetery Committee; he felt a strong sense of duty in providing end of life rituals of respect and dignity to community members. Dan's commitment to Israel was deep, and in former years he joined groups in nearly two dozen volunteer service trips there. Acutely aware of the long history of antisemitism that led to the need for a Jewish state, Dan believed in the connection between the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 65 years, Rita, who was the love of his life; as well as their children and grandchildren, all who made him proud and meant everything to him: daughter, Tina Rubin of Agawam, MA; her children Max and Samantha; and their father Lawrence; his son, Michael Kaplan of Taipei, Taiwan, his wife Carrie Tenebrini, and their sons Jack and Eli; and Lauren Kaplan of Sudbury, MA, her husband Russell Green, and their children Noah and Rebecca.

A funeral for Dan Kaplan will be held Thursday, October 16 at 10:00 AM at Congregation Knesset Israel, located at 16 Colt Rd. in Pittsfield. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to the Knesset Israel Cemetery Fund or the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires. To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com