Daniel "Henry" Edward Moran III

Daniel “Henry” E. Moran III passed away on September 3, 2025 at his home in Overland Park, Kansas. Family, friends, and colleagues will gather to celebrate his life at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 25, 2025.

Born in Dobbs Ferry, New York on April 23, 1949, Henry pursued his interest in theater, graduating from the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago, and later earned an MBA from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri. This academic foundation supported his lifelong commitment to creative endeavors and the organizational networks that nurture them.

Henry devoted 45 years to arts administration. His career began as general manager of Free Street Theater, then a project of the Illinois Arts Council. At age 22, Henry shepherded a cast of 20 through the streets of Chicago and a European tour. This adventure was followed by positions at the Michigan State Council for Arts and Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA), where for 26 years (1975-2001), he headed the nation’s first nonprofit regional arts organization. Throughout his tenure at M-AAA, Henry deftly collaborated with state arts agencies, the National Endowment for the Arts, foundations, corporations and peer arts organizations, overseeing an array of regional, national, and international arts and humanities initiatives. He led with an entrepreneurial spirit, serving artists and audiences throughout the six-state region and beyond. He and his talented staff created performing arts touring opportunities in communities large and small, established a nationwide traveling exhibitions program (ExhibitsUSA), and produced public television programs on icons such as Thomas Hart Benton and Count Basie. During this time, Henry chaired or served on eleven different National Endowment for the Arts advisory panels under six presidential administrations.

His extensive experience prepared him to serve as Executive Director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, when he was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001. In this position, Henry brought together the White House, federal agencies, civic organizations, corporations, foundations, and individuals in a mission to strengthen the country’s investment in its cultural life. With the Committee, he developed special initiatives that supported youth arts programming; recognized artists; broadened arts awareness; celebrated and preserved the nation's cultural treasures; and fostered international exchange, including the first direct exchange between U.S. cultural leaders and the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China.

Following his work with the President’s Committee, Henry returned to Kansas City to help launch the opening of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. In 2008, in recognition of his long and exceptional service on behalf of the arts, DePaul University conferred upon Henry a “Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.”

Beyond his professional life, Henry’s greatest pleasures were his family, especially his daughters and grandchildren for whom he hosted many Thanksgivings and Christmases. He found his favorite pastimes on ski slopes, golf courses, tennis and pickleball courts and ultimately at a poker table, where he applied his lifelong and well-honed strategic decision-making skills.

Henry is survived by Madelyn, his wife of 43 years; his daughters Sally Keiper (Josh), Susannah Shewmake (Scott), and Sara “Molly” Moran; four grandchildren: Sophie, Jackson, Henry, and Hazel; sisters Linda Tolkan and Pamela Blome; and many nieces and nephews. Henry will be remembered by all for his humor, his loyalty to friends and family, his ability to see the big picture, and for always being late.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to arts organizations of your choice. Friends and family are welcome to attend the Celebration of Life service at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on November 25, 2025, at 1:00 PM. For further information or to send condolences, please visit Mt.Moriah.net.