Daniel M Dieli

Daniel Michael Dieli, former resident of Pebble Beach, passed away at the age of 64, in the company of his family. Dan’s sense of adventure, and the stories he told with a marvelous wit will be treasured by his wife, Lydia Xianghui Li Olson; her daughter, Nancy Xiaonan Wang and son-in-law Chi Chen; his sisters, Alice L. Dieli, Annamaria D. Colburn and her husband Dustin Colburn, Paula C. Dieli and her husband Michael Schubert, Sara C. Dieli and her husband Jorge Gomez, and Nancy E. Dieli; as well as two grandchildren; six nieces and nephews and a grand-niece and grand-nephew. He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Alice Dieli; and his sister, Mary A. Dieli.

Dan was born in Washington, D.C. and lived in Maryland before moving with his parents and sisters to Henderson Harbor, New York, where he spent weekends working alongside his father to renovate the family’s home or work on projects at the schools that he and his sisters attended.

Dan learned to play the trumpet in high school and developed a lifelong love of the instrument. He graduated with a BA in music education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in 1980, specializing in the tuba. After he graduated, uninspired by the prospects of following the path as a music teacher, he decided “for the first time in my life to do exactly what my father recommended and join the Army band,” while he took tuba lessons from a member of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at the same time. He graduated from Army basic training in 1980 and then served with the Army band in Brooklyn, Germany, San Francisco, and in Seoul, South Korea.

Never one to pass over any challenge, Dan attended the Army’s Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) training, where he was nicknamed “Bandman” by his teammates. He was selected to continue his special forces training, and earned his airborne qualifications, and later completed jumpmaster school. His stories from this time in his life, in which he always noted that “names and dates were changed to protect the innocent,” were humorous and ironic, eschewing tales of grueling training in favor of the legend of an airborne school classmate who was “bad luck,” a label that Dan scoffed at until he learned first-hand what it felt like to be knocked unconscious mid-jump. Dan’s military awards and decorations included the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal (3rd award), Army Achievement Medal (2nd award), and Senior Parachutist Badge, among others.

Dan was protective of his parents and six sisters, and when he visited family, he often found himself pulled toward house repairs or refinishing furniture if left unsupervised. After taking an early retirement from the Army, Dan continued as a civilian employee for the Department of Defense, and continued a lifelong study of the martial arts, earning his second-degree black belt from the Korean Hapkido Federation. He will be greatly missed by all of us who loved him.

Dan and his family appreciate the care and support from the Pacific Cancer Care Center, the Hospice of the Central Coast, and The Paul Mortuary.