Daniel Brian Kuhary

It is with deep sorrow and much love that we mourn the passing of Dan Kuhary, of Rocky Mount, Virginia, on August 21, 2024, at the age of 71.

 He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 45 years, Patty, children Brian and Matt (Hannah), granddaughters Berit and Silje, and his pet Yorkie, Abby, aka Abbs-Dabbs.

 Dan was born near Detroit, Michigan, and grew up near Cleveland, Ohio. He loved swimming, which eventually carried on into being a competitive diver at Bowling Green State University. While he was at BGSU, he pursued a passion in aviation by earning his private pilot’s license, a Bachelor of Science in Technology, and his future wife, Patricia. He and Patty settled down in the area, where they started his family and he continued to expand his engineering repertoire. During his years working as an engineer, he fielded work in glass manufacturing, jet engine design and manufacturing, and extensively in custom heavy machine manufacturing. He traveled around the world to analyze customer needs, and bring that back to Toledo to execute the design. His travels took him to Japan, Australia, China, Malaysia, Thailand, England, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and even once into East Berlin before the wall fell at the end of the Cold War. One of his favorite accomplishments was making a machine that contributed to the restoration of one of the last two B-29 bombers still flying today; tying in his long love of aviation.

 He passed on a love of pin ball, foosball, football as a Cleveland Browns fan, and hockey as a Detroit Red Wings fan to his kids and grandkids. His attention to detail as an engineer also was applied to his fondness for making highly-detailed aircraft models. He loved to have classic rock playing regularly in the house, most notably during Sunday breakfasts, where the sounds ranging from Tom Petty, Pink Floyd, or Eric Clapton filled the house. Dan also had a knack of providing well-timed comedic relief to many situations, even as he passed on. That love of getting a laugh or a smile is a trait that is passed on to his kids and granddaughters; indicative of it being woven into his spirit.

 A memorial service for Dan will be held at a later date.

 The family wishes to send a special thank you to the staff at the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital ICU for their compassion and kindness.

 Also at a later date, the family plans to donate Dan’s museum-worthy models between three of his favorite museums. With that in mind and in lieu of flowers, the family requests a memorial donation to one of the following:

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (https://support.si.edu/site/Donation2?df_id=19065&19065.donation=form1)

United States Air Force Museum Foundation (https://www.afmuseum.com/givenow)

Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum (https://www.sacmuseum.org/support/donate/ )

Arrangements by Conner-Bowman Funeral Home, 62 VA Market Place Drive, Rocky Mount, VA   24151...540-334-5151.