Daniel James Deignan

Dr. Daniel James “D.J.” Deignan died peacefully in Hospice on February 7, 2026 in Tampa, Florida at the age of 78. He maintained his sense of humor, his intellectual skepticism, and his deep love for his family, up until the very end.

Dan was born on March 22, 1947, near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to James Werner Deignan and Elaine Vivian Frediani, where he grew up with his younger sister, Deanna, hanging out at his grandmother’s candy shop and at his dad’s CPA firm. He got bitten by the acting bug as a young boy when he performed in a play with his mother at Belfry Players in Delavan, WI. He became a Thespian at Badger High School in Lake Geneva, where he starred as Henry Higgens in “My Fair Lady.” He also sang with the Madrigal chorus, played on the golf team, and graduated Valedictorian in 1965.

Dan went to college at Miami University of Ohio, where he sang with the Glee Club, was in charge of Beta Theta Pi serenading, and earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1969. He continued with mathematics in graduate school at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he received master’s degrees in mathematics and computer science in 1971, and a PhD in mathematics in 1974, with his dissertation, “Boundary Regularity of Weak Solutions to a Quasilinear Parabolic Equation.” Perhaps more important than his degrees, however, was the fact that at IU he met the love of his life, Marcia, in 1970, and they began their 54-year marriage in 1971 in the chapel on IU’s campus.

Dan and Marcia fell in love with Lexington, Kentucky, on frequent trips to indulge Dan’s interest in horse racing, and so after finishing his PhD he accepted a teaching position at the University of Kentucky. Barbershop singing became a big part of Dan’s life there, and he sang with a quartet called The Vocal Chords.

While Dan loved Kentucky, he discovered he didn’t love academia, so he earned his CPA, and in 1977 he and Marcia moved back to Lake Geneva so Dan could work for his dad’s accounting firm. During their time in Lake Geneva, Dan and Marcia welcomed both of their children, Erin in 1978, and Brian in 1980. They enjoyed being close to Dan’s father and stepmother, Mary Jane, but didn’t enjoy the snow. Dan had fallen in love with Florida on a trip to Disney World and in 1983, he accepted a job as Finance Director for the City of Clearwater, Florida. The family moved to Palm Harbor, Florida, that year. Dan remained Finance Director for six years, and in 1989 he left to form his own business, Multimedia Designs, Inc., or MDI. He invented a voice-activated computer system he named Multimedia Max. He discovered a market for Multimedia Max with quadriplegics, who used the system to access computers and the internet, as well as operate lights and appliances in their homes. Dan successfully operated MDI until he retired in 2012.

Dan sang with the Heralds of Harmony barbershop chorus in Tampa, as well as several barbershop quartets, including the barbershop quartet in a local production of “The Music Man.” The Deignan family’s summer vacations were often connected to barbershop conventions, and many of Dan’s closest friends were barbershoppers. Dan also loved to take his family to Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando, some of his “happy places.” Dan’s love for theatre led him to found what became known as the “Janiel J. Deignan Gourmet Dining Club and Theatre Appreciation Society,” a family joke involving dinner at a place along the lines of an Irish pub, then a community theatre production. Dan also loved to golf but never seemed to do it well enough to be satisfied with himself. Dan and Marcia loved to play bridge, made wonderful friends in their bridge groups, and taught their kids to play too. They were both big fans of the Tampa Bay Rays, in recent years never missing a televised game.

Once Erin and Brian had fledged, Dan and Marcia became world travelers, taking multiple trips per year, starting with Alaska and Lake Tahoe, then venturing to just about every city in Italy, Paris, Turkey, Athens, London, Sicily, Hungary, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, a bike trip along the Danube, Vietnam, England, France, the Caribbean, and more.

When Erin and Brian got married, Dan made notable speeches at each of their weddings. He enthusiastically greeted his grandchildren when they came into the world, and loved to read to them, play catch with them, and throw them around in the pool. In recent years, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis robbed Dan of many of the hobbies he enjoyed, including singing, swimming and playing golf. After 40+ years in their home in Palm Harbor, he and Marcia moved to Arbor Terrace Independent Living in Citrus Park in July 2024, where they made wonderful friends that Dan cherished.

Dan is survived by his wife of 54 years, Marcia, children Erin (Dan) Reis and Brian (Lindsay) Deignan, grandchildren Elliot and Mabel Reis and Reagan and Taylor Deignan, and sister Deanna Twain. He is preceded in death by his parents, stepmother, and many of his dearest friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, March 7, at 2:00pm at Arbor Terrace Independent Living, 8355 Old Hixon Road, Tampa, FL 33626. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation or the Heralds of Harmony.