Daniel Stern

Daniel Robert Stern

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Daniel Stern. Dan was born in San Francisco, CA to Charlotte and Dr. David Stern, the youngest of their five children. He attended Brandeis Hillel Day School and Lick Wilmerding High School. He went on to graduate from UC Davis and Golden Gate Law school. He passed the California bar his first attempt! Dan had a successful, thriving career as a real estate attorney in his hometown of San Francisco. He was well respected, kind and genuinely cared for his clients and colleagues. He loved practicing law, but his other love was the gym. He reveled in transforming his body through diet and exercise. Dan was generous with his time, always there to help a friend put together a diet or workout routine.

Dan met Donna in 2002 and married June 5, 2004. They shared a deep love of travel. His travel planning passion was evidenced in him researching destinations, dinner reservation for every night, booking the most fun excursions, private tours of museums, train reservations or accommodations. His favorite trip was one he lovingly prepared for Donna and Laura, to explore Paris, Venice, and Rome. He was excited to show Laura the Eifel Tower, Venice, Roman Coliseum, Musee d'Orsay, Mona Lisa and great meals in between. One of Dan's greatest joys was watching his daughter blossom into an incredible person. He loved helping with homework, watching her wrestle on the high school team, debate politics, and apply to law school. He loved his daughter deeply and was so flattered that she wanted to follow his footsteps into law.

Dan was happiest sitting on our deck overlooking Richardson Bay with us, snuggled up by the fire with his four-legged companion, Simone'. He loved mornings in the park with Donna and Simone', watching the sunset from his deck in Sausalito, the simple tasks of showering, walking on the treadmill or making coffee in the morning. Dan loved having a great dinner in wine country with close friends, nice cars, family gatherings, his birthday, and doing anything that would make Donna smile. He loved to cook, and his lasagna was the best.

Dan gave being a competitor new meaning when he was diagnosed with Pulmonary Artery Intimal Sarcoma, an extremely rare type of malignant tumor. He courageously defied his prognosis and the medical community for the next 986 days. During Daniels's life with sarcoma, he faced many obstacles, his biggest being paralyzed for seven months. He was determined to walk again and being the true competitor he is, he achieved that goal and so many more. He was an inspiration to everyone who knew him and through his cancer he made great contributions by helping sarcoma teams to better understand this rare disease so that more effective treatments might be developed.

Dan was preceded in death by his father David and his mother Charlotte. Dan is survived by his wife Donna and their daughter, Laura, as well as his siblings, Dr. Richard (Susie) Stern, Sherrie Groshong (Tony), Gary Stern (Randy) and Dr. Susan Cumming (Alister). He leaves his nieces, Michelle, Jessica, Ashley, Margo, Madison and his nephews Colin, Alexander, Aiden and Martin, his as well as his grandniece Amelia, grandnephews Ari, Wyatt and Hayden.

Dan and Donna would like to thank the following staff at UCSF in San Francisco: his oncologist Dr. Ross Okimoto, who gave Dan hope when there was none, his surgical team Dr. Michael Mann, Dr. Tobias Deuse, Dr. Lundy Campbell and the entire UCSF Cardiac Critical Care unit for their extraordinary pursuit in getting Dan well. Thank you to Dr. Alexander Gottschalk and his incredible team who gave Dan the gift of more time. Thanks to Dr. Vinod Ravi and his team at M.D. Anderson, Dr. Jonathan Katz and the amazing acute rehabilitation team at CPMC Davies Campus, and Dr. Gary Schwartz, Columbia University who was always there to help steer the course. Thank you, Dr. David Scher, Dr. Jean Bismuth, Dr. Grace Cordavano and Nick Adkins, for his cosmic way of connecting us.

Special thanks to pulmonologist, Dr. Dinah Bukowski, who saved Dan's life by identifying the need for emergency open heart surgery and setting the course for all the miracles that would soon follow. Thanks to cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Victor Pretorius for performing Dan's heroic surgery and the entire Cardiovascular Intensive Care unit at UC San Diego.

Heartfelt thanks to Dan's home caregiver and friend, Rosalie Muth, who always made sure he was cared for and heard. Dan could not have made it through the past three years without the support from our daughter Laura and her fiancé Casey Kahler, Dan's best friend, mentor and brother Richard, and our best friends Tisha & Anthony Marinelli, who we were blessed to have by our side throughout this journey. Thank you, Dave Wasserman, Dan's trusted friend and law associate for 17 years. Special love and gratitude to our precious dog Simone' who was by his side for every treatment and showered him with endless affection and joy as well as the countless people who are too many to name that made our lives better and Dan feel loved.

He is missed more than words can ever express. Dan, you will live forever in our hearts.
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A private celebration of life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations to Pinksocks.life are so appreciated.