Daniel F. Kula

PORTVILLE - Daniel F. Kula, 65, of Portville, passed away Wednesday (Nov. 5, 2014) at Buffalo General Hospital.

Known to his friends and family as "Dan," "Danny," "Coach," "Bob," or "Chi Chi," he was born Oct. 31, 1949, and grew up in north Olean. Danny graduated from Archbishop Walsh High School in 1967.

Danny began his career as an educator at St. Joseph's Parochial School after graduating from St. Bonaventure University with his Bachelor's Degree in English in 1972 and later received a Master's Degree in education in 1978, also from St. Bonaventure. Danny then accepted a position at Friendship Central School, where he impressed upon his students the importance of good grammar, fostered students' appreciation for classical literature and poetry, and encouraged a healthy sense of fun and adventure in learning through the use of model rockets in his middle school science class.

Following his retirement from the traditional classroom setting in 2010, Danny continued to educate schoolchildren with simulated space missions while working as a "mission commander" at the Dresser-Rand Challenger Learning Center in Allegany.

Above and beyond the fulfillment he felt from shaping the minds of children, Danny derived even greater joy and pleasure from his avocational pursuits such as sports and the great outdoors.

He spent many years coaching baseball in the Portville Little League, including a 15-0 season as head coach of the Rockies, and served as an assistant coach on several postseason teams, chief among them the all-star team that captured the 1993 New York State Div. 2 championship. Prior to his coaching career, he played softball for many years in the Olean tavern leagues and once attended an open tryout for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he was judged to be "too old, too slow, average arm."

Danny was also a former president of the Olean Rod and Gun Club and a one-time champion of the club's high-power rifle league. He belonged to the Sons of the American Legion in Olean and was a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. His other hobbies included building model airplanes and tanks, hiking, fishing, attending air shows and gun shows, setting off fireworks, rooting for the Boston Red Sox, and cultivating potatoes, pumpkins, squash and other vegetables in the garden.

Danny was active in the practice of his Catholic faith his entire life. As a boy, he was an altar server at Transfiguration Parish in north Olean, and, most recently, he served as a lector at Sacred Heart in Portville and Saint Mary of the Angels in Olean.

On Aug. 20, 1974, Danny married Mary E. Randall, and the couple moved to their current home in Portville shortly thereafter. He is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Mary, and their children: Michael Kula and his wife Brianna, of Sunbury, Pa.; Thomas Kula and his wife Jennifer, of Jacksonville, Fla.; and Catherine Kula, of Portville. Danny is also survived by a sister, Rosemary (Kula) Grego, and her husband James, of Hilton.

His parents, Stanley and Lucy (Sokolowski) Kula, preceded him in death, both in the summer of 2001.

The family welcomes visitation of loved ones and friends on Sunday (Nov. 9, 2014) from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Guenther Funeral Home, Inc., 1303 East State Street, Olean. Funeral services will be held Monday (Nov. 10, 2014), beginning with a prayer service at 9:30 a.m. at Guenther Funeral Home and followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 10 a.m. at Saint Mary of the Angels Church, 119 W. Henley St., Olean. Father Greg Dobson will be celebrant. Following the Mass, burial will be at St. Bonaventure Cemetery, Allegany.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages charitable gifts be made in Danny's memory to the Dresser-Rand Challenger Learning Center or the National Rifle Association.