Daniel James Weiser

Captain Daniel James Weiser took his final flight home on August 10, 2025 at the age of 67, surrounded by the love of his family. Born prematurely on July 18, 1958 to Harold D. Weiser and Dollie (Paull) Weiser in Kalkaska, Michigan, Dan was a fighter from the very start. He is reunited with his parents, along with his sister Ann (Moeke) and brother Bill.

Dan loved learning, not just for himself, but in order to make a difference in the world. His roots in Northern Michigan built his foundation on community, accountability, and intentionality that remained a part of him, no matter how big his skies became. He graduated from Mancelona High School with honors, discovered the beauty of aviation, and became a flight instructor to share his passion with others. Next, he graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in Aerospace Technology and began an exciting career in commercial aviation that grew his community tenfold. Along the way, Dan also earned his master’s degree in education and completed the SCUBA training necessary to become a certified PADI Rescue Diver. Always, it was about forward movement and improving the lives around him.

With over 20,000 flight hours across his three-decade career, Dan lived in Sarasota, Florida; then Columbus, Ohio; then Cincinnati before returning to sunny Sarasota once again. His work family knew him at Dolphin Aviation (1981), PDQ Airlines (1982-85), and Airborne Express (now DHL) where he flew for twenty-five years beginning in 1985. Over the years, Dan was a chief pilot at a commuter airline, a YS-11 captain, a DC-9 captain, then a Boeing 767 captain. His roles included being an evaluator, check airman, trustee and committee chairman for 750 of his pilot peers, and FAA representative. Details and safety—taking care of those around him—were always high priorities. In retirement, it was no different when he founded his own independent investment advisory firm to look after the savings of his colleagues and friends.

His interests knew no bounds, nor his willingness to meet everyone he encountered exactly where they were in life. In this, it was the people that mattered most to Dan—always what he could do for others. He raised a family with his ultimate co-pilot and friend, his forever love and wife who he met at a ski shop in December, 1981. Dan and Kim (Goad) married on March 2, 1985 and began their grand adventure of forty years. They traveled the world and built a legacy. He guided his children into the waters of adulthood and parenthood, coaching them with gentleness, never “high level advice” laden with expectation. To his family, and especially his seven grandsons, “Papa Dan” will be remembered as a warm and loving man who was quick with a smile or a wink and who would do anything for the people he loved. He helped everyone he knew to live genuinely and to their fullest, and in the process, so did he.

“It’s all in God’s hands,” he said about this past year, and he was right. His reminder, as well as the memory of his humble strength and quiet wisdom, will live on through the lives he touched. As Isaiah 40:31 reminds us: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles…” He was full of hope and is soaring now, free and whole.

Dan was a devoted husband, a selfless father, and a proud grandfather. He is survived by his wife, Kim; their three children: Jason (Carissa), Kristin (Jason Krizan), and Jared (Rebecca); his seven cherished grandsons: Noah, Henry, Carter, Charlie, Dawson, Jack, and baby Nolan; as well as his nieces: Amy (David) Derrer and Pam (Rob) McIntosh.

Please join us in celebrating his life at a visitation on Thursday evening, August 21, 2025 from 5:00-8:00pm at Mueller Funeral Home in Mason (6791 Tylersville Rd). A second visitation is scheduled the following day on Friday, August 22, 2025 from 12:00-1:00pm at The Chapel at Cincinnati Vineyard Church (11340 Century Cir E) with a funeral service to follow at 1:00pm. Streaming is available. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Kobacker House in Columbus, Ohio.