Obituary of Dan Zeitner
Dan ZeitnerThe funeral Mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Thursday, July 8, at St. Jude Catholic Church in Eugene for Dan Zeitner of Eugene, who died June 24 of a acute myocardial infarction. He was 63.He was born May 13, 1947, in Burke, S.D., to Edwin and Regina Schmitz Zeitner. He married Nancy Schram on Aug. 7, 1971, in Eugene. She died in 1995. He married Susie Miller Lantz on Nov. 24, 2001, in Eugene.He served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam. He worked as a service repair technician for Comcast for more than 38 years.Survivors include his wife; two sons, Ryan of Portland and Christopher of Eugene; two stepdaughters, Jennifer Lantz of Ennis, Mont., and Sarah Lantz of Eugene; six sisters, Delores Stahlecker of Spencer, Neb., Rosemarie Cermy of Gregory, S.D., Betty Funke of Coburg, Marlene Green of South Bend, Wash., and Carolyne Reddon and Linda Bennett, both of Eugene.Arrangements by Musgrove Family Mortuary in Eugene.Dan Zeitner died unexpectedly from a heart attack on June 24th, 2010 while on a sailing trip in the British Virgin Islands surrounded by his wife Susie Zeitner and close family friends. Born May 13th, 1947 in Burke, South Dakota, Dan was the sixth child to be born into a large and loving Catholic family. He was preceded in birth by five older sisters; Deloris Stahlecker of Spencer, Nebraska, Rosemarie Cerny of Gregory, South Dakota, Betty Funke of Coburg, Oregon, Marlene Green of South Bend, Washington, and Carolyn Reddon of Eugene. Dan was the only boy and was affectionately nicknamed the "Golden Child." Last to be born after Dan was sister Linda Benett of Eugene. Dan attended St. Mary's in Eugene and later graduated from St. Francis High School in 1965. After serving his country within the military service in Alaska, Dan began his 39 year career in the telecommunications industry, working most recently for Comcast Communications. Dan was an avid lover of the great outdoors. He was an excellent downhill and cross country skier, as well as a skilled hiker and climber. Through his adventures, Dan was able to either climb or ski most every peak in the Northwest. Sharing his love for the outdoors with friends and family was Dan's great joy. If not outside exploring, Dan also loved firing up the barbecue and enjoying a fine sip of his favorite tequila. Dan could also be most noted for his infectious smile and quick wit. He was also an amazingly kind and positive person. Always giving and generous, you could count on Dan to be there with a helping hand when you needed him. Never sweating the small stuff, Dan inevitably landed himself with the title "Mr. Vacation" by his fellow coworkers, and his close family and friends often new him as "Dan the Man." If at any moment you were brave enough to banter back and forth with Dan, he was always sure to point out watch out if you were standing on his good side or not. He infectiously referred to this as "his good arm" and that meant jokingly that you'd be in real trouble. Dan was also an extremely loving and devoted father and husband. In August of 1971, Dan married Nancy Schram and had two wonderful sons Chris Zeitner of Eugene, Oregon and Ryan Zeitner of Portland, Oregon who he was very proud of. Sadly Nancy passed away in August of 1995. Later Dan would remarry Susie Lantz in November 2001 and proudly welcomed her two daughters, Sarah Lantz of Eugene, Oregon and Jennifer Lantz of Ennis, Montana as his own. Throughout Dan and Susie?s relationship they loved to create and explore together. They shared a successful glass business (Z Glass Act) and built a beautiful and artistic home in Sisters, Oregon. The house in Sisters soon became their home away from home and they spent many weeks and weekends there for the last 8 years building the house mostly themselves. They planned to retire there this coming spring. They both found great pride taking an active roll in the Sisters community by generously supporting the creative arts, and looked forward to cultivating their roots there together in the future. Anybody who knew them as a couple always expressed the pleasure of the true companionship and love that radiated from them together. Sharing their relationship with a large extended circle of family and friends was something that filled them both with laughter and joy, and they loved their life together. Dan will sincerely be missed by everyone who knew him, and Dan?s love for life and ability to see everything for its potential will live on in the hearts of those all who knew and loved him. We all love you, Dan!