Dec.
24, 1932 - April 30, 2009SOUTH BEND - Daniel (Dan) Thomas Rich died on April 30, 2009, at the age of 76. He was born on December 24, 1932, in South Bend, IN, to the late Ronald Emil and Lucille Cecelia (Bickel) Rich. He graduated from John Adams High School in South Bend in 1950 and then attended the University of Notre Dame for two years, at which time he was called to serve in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After service, he returned to South Bend and then attended and graduated from Purdue University in 1959 with a BS in aeronautical engineering. Upon graduation he accepted a position with AiResearch Manufacturing Company (later The Garrett Corporation - Signals Companies - AlliedSignal and now Honeywell) in Phoenix, spending his entire career working on gas turbine engines. He retired from there in 1988 and started a new career by buying a business - JC Printing/Jiffy Copy, Inc., in which he was a part-owner (along with his son, Tom) at the time of his death. Dan spent many years active in youth sports programs, having served 10 years with Madison #1 Little League, and 27 years with the Arizona Pop Warner Football program, of which he was the commissioner from 1979 through 1992. About 20 years ago, Dan got involved in genealogy and had traced his and his deceased spouse's families back to 1680. He had over 64, 000 individual names in his genealogy database. He was a member of several genealogy societies, including the South Bend Area Genealogy Society. He was also a member of the South Bend Alumni Association and the Purdue Alumni Association On August 31, 1957, he married Barbara Jean Lyvers in St. Joseph Catholic Church, South Bend IN, who preceded him in death on January, 21, 2004. He was also preceded in death by a grandson, Dustin Rich. Survivors include three sons, Ronald J. (Dena), Paul E. (Sharon) and Thomas J. (Kris), granddaughter, Heather, and great-grandson, Sean, all of Phoenix. Also surviving are a brother, Joseph (Marilyn) R. Rich of Roswell, GA, and a sister, Mary Virginia Sears (Raymond) of Green Valley, AZ. Arrangements were handled by Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, with interment at St. Francis Catholic Cemetery in Phoenix. Private services have been held. A private memorial Mass will be held at a later date at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Phoenix, AZ. Family suggests memorial donations to The Holy Cross Association, P.O. Box K, Notre Dame, IN 46556; or to the St. Mary's Food Bank of Phoenix. Published in South Bend Tribune on 5/10/200