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Daniel W. Thomas affectionately called "D.T." was born in Portland, Oregon on April 9, 1979. He passed away in Pennsylvania on September 20, 2023 at the age of 44. He was the son of the late David Wayne Thomas and Nina Jean Keiser. Dan was well traveled. As a child he lived in Vancouver, Washington until the age of eight. He was raised by his loving grandmother Judy Marie Buller. He briefly move to Fresno in 1987 before moving to Norfolk, Virginia with the family in 1989. Norfolk was one of Dan's favorite places to live as a child. He learned how to tumble and do flips in the gymnasium at school and was on the football team. One of his favorite things to do in Virginia in the early, early hours of the morning was to walk down Lake Smith with a fishing pole or stick with a string, hooks, fishing lures or live worm bait (on the good mornings). He was great at catching perch, trout, bass, carp and catfish. In 1991 Dan moved back to Fresno where he would attend Jane Addams Elementary School and Wawona Middle School. He played the trumpet, trombone and tuba. He was always a team leader and very athletic. Dan was a mathematical genius and learned to master the game of chess. It was during his middle school years that Dan got his first job as a paper route delivery boy, which he took very serious, especially when collecting the client's monthly fees. Dan went on to attend Fresno High School where he was a wide receiver for the varsity football team, ran track and field and cross country. Dan graduated from Fresno High School in 1997. Dan enlisted in the United States Army where he was stationed at Fort Jackson, SC for basic training and Fort Sam Houston, TX for his Pharmacy Technician AIT. His final station was at Fort Lewis, WA were he completed his tour of duty. Dan was highly educated. He graduated from Fresno State University with a BA in Mass Communications and Journalism in 2004. He then earned his MBA from the Craig School of Business at Fresno State in 2013. While at FSU, he worked as a pharmacy tech at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center and had a couple of side hustles throwing parties. He was a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. It was during his time at Fresno State where he met his wife Shellian. His first daughter Mckenzie was born in 2005, the same year he became a member of the Fresno Fire Department. Due to injuries he sustained on the job, he retired from the fire department and the family moved to Townsend, Delaware, then to Chino Hills, California and finally settling in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Dan was passionate about his role as a Fresno Firefighter but over the last few years Daniel has pursued many different fields. He was accepted in the Pre-Med program at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, earned his realtor license, and for the last seven years has been a day trader in the stock market. Daniel strived to be the best at everything he did. He would go hard when playing football or basketball. One thing about Daniel, he was relatable on all topics, be it world news, politics, injuries, illness, sports, marital problems, personality problems, money problems, you name it... he had an idea on how to fix it. Dan's biggest accomplishments were his three children. He was an amazing and involved father who taught his children high levels of education, especially mathematics. He was committed not only to their academics but their athletics as well. He loved getting the party started and catering to the crowd. You could always count on him lighting the grill and the fireworks. He is survived by his wife Shellian; his children Mckenzie, Morgan and Nathaniel; mother and father-in-law Janet and Carlton Powell; sister Mindy Thomas. He is preceded in death by his grandmother Judy Marie Buller. A Celebration of Life with Military Honors will be held at Chapel of the Light Funeral Home on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.

Tributes

Daniel W. Thomas

April 9, 1979 - September 20, 2023