Our dear husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend, Dan von der Embse, passed away suddenly on February 3, 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah of a pulmonary embolism. He was 59 years old.
Dan was born on December 7th 1955 in Mansfield, Ohio to Charles Vonder Embse and Kathleen (Schmutzler) Vonder Embse. He grew up in Mansfield and attended Ashland University, graduating with a degree in theater before embarking on a long and successful career in advertising.
Dan married Jayne, and became the very proud father of Alex von der Embse. He later married his best friend and love of his life, Gina Pingitore. Dan cherished time spent with Gina at their Westlake Village home, and on their many trips together abroad. He especially loved their long journeys to Italy, where he felt a deep kinship and connection to the Italian people and their culture. Dan and Gina planned to retire there.
Dan was a quietly passionate man of many layers. He had a quick and disarming wit, and he knew just how and when to use it. He loved good food, great art, fine wine, and close company. He loved his family. He was the friend who could be counted on and a trusted mentor to many. An accomplished poet with a curious mind and romantic soul, he was a master interpreter of life’s rich cadence.
Dan is survived by his beloved wife Gina, daughter Alex, brothers Ed, Chuck and Mark, their children Mark Jr., Beth, Susan, and Haley, brother-in-law David and his wife Joan and son Nicholas, and his devoted canine companion, Stella. His sudden loss is a tremendous blow that is difficult to process. The grief felt by all who loved him is profound. We will miss him terribly.
A celebration of Dan’s life will be held on February 11th, 3pm at the Four Seasons, Westlake Village. Donations can be made to Best Friends Animal Society https://secure.bestfriends.org/page/contribute/memory or the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra http://www.sfsymphony.org/Youth-Family/Youth-Orchestra.
I’m so sorry to hear that:(
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I’m so sorry for this terrible loss.
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My heart is lurching with sadness reading upon his sudden death. I absolutely loved his poetry and he was one of my very first followers. My condolences to his family and friends. He may be gone, but his words will live on.
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I’m so sorry to hear this – Dan was a great poet and an inspiration – he bristled with infectious, creative energy. I’m really going to miss him. My condolences to Dan’s friends and family.
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I, too, am sorry to hear this. He was a great presence in the lives of those who read him. My condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed by many who only know him through his work but were touched by the words he shared.
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i am so sorry and so sad , i don’t even know what to say. he was such a kind , brilliant man . i am so very sorry for your family. please find comfort in your wonderful memories.
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Please accept my deepest sympathies. Truly heartrending loss. x
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Reblogged this on errinspelling and commented:
daniel was so kind to me,such beautiful words ,just a few days ago. i am so sad and can’t imagine what his family is going through
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I so enjoyed his work. This brings me great sadness and my thoughts go out to all of you.
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Reblogged this on A Womanonymous and commented:
I am so shocked.
I followed this gentleman for months and he was wonderfully talented and very prolific.
I will miss his posts.
If you have the opportunity, please take a moment to read some of his work.
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Sincerest condolences. He is now radiating his love upon you from above. May God bless and keep your family safe.
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So, so sorry… so so sad…. He broke our hearts with brilliants words and now we have just a empty space… Let me drop some tears for our great friend….
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Wow. Can’t hit “Like” on this one. My heart goes out to family. We’ve lost a very good poet. I’m sorry.
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I’m stunned. At first I was hoping this was Dan writing another bit of moving prose. I only knew Dan via WP but I felt like I knew him through his beautiful words. He also was very supportive about my writing and I could always rely on him to say something profound in the comment section. He also was generous about sharing me with his readers or giving me a friendly shoutout on twitter. I would marvel at how many poems he had in him and I’m so glad he shared so many before his passing. My condolences to the family. I will miss seeing his poems in my email box. I’d like to think he’s somewhere up there writing more beautiful poems.
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A beautiful tribute, my condolences.
Ian
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Thoughts to all his family and close friends. Hard to say any more except rest in peace.
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Condolences for your loss – I enjoyed Dan’s writing immensely – reading his posts every day.
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Please accept my sincerest condolences.
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Feb 3rd 1959, the day the music died. Feb 3rd, 2015… we’ll miss you Dan. Bye, bye to a really great guy.
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Very sad news. My condolences on your loss.
His poems were an inspiration and touched many of us.
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My deepest condolences on your loss. I personally only knew him through this wonderful platform wordpress, and he was among those who never failed to shower my works with delightful comments. He was also among the few I first followed when I joined this online platform, and I have since been following up on his brilliant works. It is truly sad to hear that he is gone. But Heaven has gained a new angel, and he will forever live in our hearts.
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I’m so very sorry for your loss. I had the privilege of speaking to Dan a couple of months ago. I had booked him for my podcast. He truly seemed like such a lovely man. My heart goes out to you all.
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My condolences on your very great loss.
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I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Please know that he was well loved by his community of bloggers and respected for his work. An emptiness has been left in his place. He will be missed. In love and light
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