1947
2015
SPRINGFIELD, IL - Dan Erwin, 68, of Springfield, died peacefully on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, at St. John's Hospital. His wife and son were at his bedside.
Dan had fought bravely against a very rare and very aggressive cancer. He received excellent care and treatment from Springfield Clinic Cancer Center, but in the end the cancer could not be stopped.
Dan was born July 30, 1947, in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Charles Mack Erwin and Marjorie Aileen Leibold Erwin.
Dan went to college at WIU in Macomb. While there, he met the love of his life - Marjo Ann Pape. They married in 1969 and have remained together ever since. They had two children, Karen and David.
Dan enlisted in the U.S. Army for three years. For one year, he was posted to a NATO Communications Center in Holland where he supervised troops of five different nationalities. Marjo was with him for this wonderful year.
After military service, they completed one more year of college at WIU. Dan got his BA in the same amount of time that Marjo got her MA.
After college in late 1972, they moved to Springfield with $400 in their pockets, got an apartment, and looked for jobs. Marjo was quickly hired at Franklin Life. Dan was eventually hired as a Governmental Career Trainee at the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Dan moved up at DOT in a series of leadership positions in different parts of the organization. He retired in 2002 as the Manager of the Accounts and Finance Section - ironically, the same office where he had started as a trainee 30 years before.
Retirement allowed Dan to pursue other employment opportunities. He was a management consultant on a few assignments. He was a field supervisor in the 2010 U.S. Census - a very similar position to the one held by his fourth great-grandfather Erwin 200 years before in the 1810 Census.
Dan's greatest employment joy was substitute teaching in the local high schools - especially Rochester. He worked several long term assignments in History and Government and really enjoyed this activity.
Dan's retirement also allowed him to avidly pursue a wide variety of interests: mainly poker, golf, numismatics, genealogy, and investments. In the last few years, Dan served as a volunteer tour guide at the Old State Capitol and also as the Saturday morning starter at Piper Glen Golf Course.
Dan was preceded in death by his parents and daughter, Karen Erwin.
He is survived by his wife, Marjo; son, David; sister, Ann Erwin of Thousand Oaks, Calif.; one niece; and three nephews.
A visitation will be held from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, at Wilson Park Funeral Home in Rochester.
Please do not bring or send flowers - Dan hates flowers. Instead, please make a donation to the Erwin Fund - Rochester High School Social Studies Department.
Wilson Park Funeral Home, 200 E. Main St. Rochester, IL 62563 is in charge of arrangements. Visit our online obituary at www.wilsonparkfuneralhome.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Sponsored by Wilson Park Funeral Home - Rochester.
Scott Jeter
September 19, 2015
What a wonderful man, husband, fathervyoyvatw!
Scott and Marian Jeter thinking of all those good bridge times we had from 1972 to 1977.
Rest in Peace dear soul!!!
Know you and Ron are having some great bridge times!
Just wish we were there with you!
September 19, 2015
Marjo,
Deepest sympathy to you and your family.Dan always entertained us with his poker stories and trivia and will be missed by all of us at the Wednesday night game.
He was truly the "gentleman" of poker.
Ann DeMichael
September 19, 2015
Dan,the true"gentleman" of poker always entertained us with his poker stories and trips.We will certainly miss him at our Wednesday night game.MY daughters also had the privilege of working with Dan at DOT and we wish to extend deepest sympathy to you and your son.
Ann DeMichael
Theresa and Denis Cherrier
Betsy Calcara
September 18, 2015
He was my favorite teacher to enter a classroom in my whole life. He will be missed dearly.
Glenn Harper
September 18, 2015
Marjo:
I was very sad to hear of Dan's passing. I had the pleasure of working with him as a member of IDOT's teaching cadre. This was also a volunteer effort which demonstrated Dan's commitment to his profession and giving knowledge to others. He immediately saw the value of the methods and techniques we used when he was trained as an IDOT trainer. He rapidly incorporated these concepts into the courses he instructed and was well received by the many hundreds of fellow employees.
Dan gave of his time so that others could become more effective in completing their respective job duties. His wry sense of humor and pleasant attitude made his seminars a good place to learn. Dan was known and well-liked by IDOT personnel from throughout the state and he made their lives better. I will be out of town during the visitation, but wanted your family to know what a valuable and wonderful person Dan was and he will be greatly missed.
Sincerely:
Glenn Harper
September 17, 2015
I loved having Mr. Erwin as a substitute teacher! He will be greatly missed in the Rochester School District.
September 17, 2015
Mr. Erwin always brought so much more to a class than what a regular substitute would. He was always so full of information and the passion he had for knowledge and life radiated. I am honored to have known him and have learned from him the few times I had him as a substitute. Condolences to the family and please know that he touched and enriched so many lives.
Gabrielle (Kilby) Fisher
September 17, 2015
I am so sorry to read of your loss. Karen was one of my classmates at Rochester, and of course, Dave too. I also had the pleasure of working with Dan while he subbed at SHS a few years ago. Great guy to work with! He will be missed. My thoughts and prayers are with your family.
Sarah Littrell
September 17, 2015
we all loved Dan here at Rochester. He was so eager to help teachers and students. He always had a smile on his face and shared his love of history with all of us. He will be missed!
September 17, 2015
Your neighbors in Piper Glen will miss you - our sincere condolences to your family.
Tracie Blaise
September 17, 2015
Dan,
I feel lucky I got to know you and I miss you already. You taught me a lot, Im grateful for that. Save me a seat at your table :)
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Wilson Park Funeral Home - Rochester200 East Main Street, Rochester, IL 62563
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