Daniel J. Cutillo

Daniel James Cutillo was born on October 15, 1951, to Jean Vitale and Daniel John Cutillo in Long Island, New York. The youngest of four athletic brothers, Dan grew up in Amityville and graduated from Amityville Memorial High School in 1970.

Dan distinguished himself early as an exceptional athlete. As a football player at Amityville Memorial High School, he earned league, county, state, and national recognition from his sophomore through senior years. He was selected to both the Parade and Scholastic Coach All-American teams. He had big shoes to fill, following older brothers John, Billy, and Gerry, who each excelled in multiple sports—John at Notre Dame and Billy and Gerry at the University of Southern Mississippi.

A nationally recruited football player, Dan accepted a scholarship to play for legendary Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes at The Ohio State University. A three-year letterman, he played in two winning Rose Bowl games, in 1973 and 1974, and graduated from Ohio State in 1975 with a B.S. in Education.

Coach Hayes’ influence on Dan extended far beyond the football field. Dan embraced Hayes’ philosophy of “paying it forward”—lending a hand to a young person so they can reach their goals and fulfill their potential in life. It was a philosophy Dan carried with him throughout his life.

While at Ohio State, Dan met and married the love of his life Barbara Meuche of Dayton, Ohio. They first met at a concert on the Oval in the spring of 1972, and their first date was at Mirror Lake. Barb always said, with a smile, that “she chased him and he caught her!”

Following graduation in 1975, Dan joined the family insurance business in Toledo. Their daughter Cameron was born in 1982, followed by daughter Lauren in 1984. His daughters were his pride and joy, and they grew up idolizing their dad as he taught them many valuable life lessons from the sidelines to business. They credit their dad for their entrepreneurial spirit and will deeply miss all of their dad’s daily motivation and constant encouragement they received from him.

With a growing family, Dan moved to Mount Vernon, Ohio, where he purchased the Hollinger Insurance Agency, and then back to Toledo to affiliate again with the family insurance agency.

In 1987, Dan joined forces with Pat Giammarco, founder of Marco’s Pizza. He became instrumental in the early growth and success of the brand. Dan was one of the first three Marco’s franchisees to believe in and commit to Marco’s vision of operational excellence, passion for making Marco’s the pizza of choice in every community, and dedication to investing in and growing the brand, as recognized in Dan’s 2015 Marco’s Legacy Award.

Dan and Barb went on to build Cutillo, Inc., which became a family business with as many as 23 stores in northern and central Ohio. Today, the company is led by their son-in-law, Brandon Smith, and comprises Ohio franchises in Northwest Ohio and Dayton.

After 40 years of living and thriving on the Maumee River in Toledo and enjoying countless wonderful celebrations with cherished friends at the Toledo Country Club, Dan and Barb moved to Columbus in 2017 to be closer to their children and grandchildren. As Barb put it, “We moved from the friends we liked so much and still maintain, to be closer to everyone we love.” Barb and Dan celebrated their 50th anniversary in April 2026 and embarked on a much anticipated 16-family member cruise around Europe, wrapping up in Rome, just this past August.

Even in retirement, Dan continued to do what he loved most: teaching, coaching, mentoring, and bringing people together. He took great pleasure in coaching both junior high and high school in Perrysburg, and volunteering at Kenyon College when residing in Mount Vernon. Despite all his successes and accolades in football, his proudest achievement was coaching his 12 year old grandsons, Knox and Decker Smith in their Upper Arlington league last fall. Just ten days before his passing, Dan met with the Ohio State Buckeyes running backs and gave them a seven-minute coaching session—a fitting final chapter for a man who never stopped sharing what he knew with the next generation. He took slightly less pleasure in his golf game, although he could still be enthusiastically found on golf courses in both Ohio and Florida. Dan was inducted into the Amityville Memorial Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Dan was also known for his “168 Hours in the Week” motivational speech, which developed a devoted and ever-growing following within the U.S. Navy Officer Corps, where his nephew, Michael Sullivan, often shared it with his fellow Officers. His message was simple: everyone has the same 168 hours each week. After 40 work hours and 40 sleep hours, what matters is how we choose to use the remaining 88.

A natural landscape architect with a magical green thumb, Dan took enormous pride in creating beautiful gardens and yards at both of his homes. He was also a terrific cook and, together with Barb, hosted Sunday evening family dinners for many years. His favorite meal was Chicken Parmesan. These gatherings reflected what mattered most to Dan: good food, good conversation, laughter, and family. He was a member of Scioto Country Club.

Family was everything to Dan. In addition to his adored wife, children, and grandchildren, he built special relationships with his sons-in-law, Brandon Smith, who worked side by side with him in the Marco’s stores for 10 years, and Derek Kinnear, whose deep, faith-filled conversations both inspired and comforted him.

Dan was preceded in death by his parents, Daniel and Jean Cutillo, and his older brothers John and Billy, whom he always credited with mentoring him through both their words and their example. He is deeply loved and will be profoundly missed by his wife, Barbara (“Barb”); daughters Cameron (Brandon) Smith and Lauren (Derek) Kinnear; grandchildren Knox, Decker, and Arlan Smith and Isabella and Claire Kinnear (and as a “girl dad” they were also his pride and joy) , brother Gerry Cutillo and wife Laura; sisters- and brothers-in-law Marti Sullivan, Anne and Max Pierce, Manda and Donald Lane, Steve and Deb Wright, Nicole and George George, and Michael Meuche; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. The family will be forever grateful to the OSU James Cancer Center for their care.

Dan leaves behind not only a loving family and a successful business, but also a legacy of leadership, generosity, mentorship, and a lifelong commitment to helping others reach their potential. His greatest lessons were not taught on a football field or in a boardroom, but through the way he lived: work hard, make the most of your time, help others along the way, and always pay it forward.

A celebration of Dan’s life will be held at the OSU Faculty Club, 181 S. Oval Mall, Columbus, Ohio 43210 on Thursday, October 15, 2026, from 3-7pm (with Marcos Pizza and buckeyes of course) and with remarks from 4-430 and 6-630. Buckeye apparel is encouraged.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to OSU Champions Fund, Amityville Memorial High School STEM Scholarship, Columbus Humane, or to a charity of your choice.

Arrangements made by Schoedinger Northwest.