Dr. Daniel Ray Stryker

Dr. Daniel Ray Stryker passed from this life to heaven on Wednesday, November 13, 2013 in Houston, TX after a long fight with cancer and Neurosarcoidosis. He was born on July 15, 1957 on a military base in London, England while his father was serving in the U.S. Air Force there. After moving around with a military family he moved to Houston in First Grade and graduated from MacArthur High School in Aldine. Dan was a football star in high school, playing tight end and punter. He could kick the football from one end of the field to the other and drop it on the 3 or 4 yard line. He attended Sam Houston State University on a football scholarship his freshman year, but decided to concentrate on studies after that. Dan graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. He worked in medical research for several years doing surgery on animals while teaching Biology at UTMB. He worked for several years at St. Joseph Hospital before deciding to teach. He worked as a substitute teacher in the Conroe school district while working on a Master of Education degree from the University of Houston. He taught English and Math at Eisenhower High School in Aldine for several years. He then spent the majority of his career as a History professor at both Lonestar College and Houston Community College. Along the way he continued his education and completed a Master of Arts degree in History at Sam Houston State University and a Doctor of Education Curriculum Instruction degree at University of Houston. Dan never lost his love of learning and was half-way finished with a Master of Arts in English when he became ill about four years ago.

A love of learning was something Dan passed along to his students, impacting many lives. He was a popular professor who made History interesting to students who previously found it boring. They would wait to schedule their next History class at a time when he would be teaching. Students in next-door classrooms where known to leave their doors open so they could listen to his lectures and once his class even gave him a standing ovation. On the Internet, where students graded teachers, he got the highest marks available.

His students weren’t the only ones who loved him. His nieces and nephews loved him and he loved them. He frequently entertained them with silly antics. Their favorite time was every Christmas when he played Santa Claus and handed out all the gifts. Dan contributed much to this world and he will be missed.

Dan is survived by his parents, Theodore Ray and Nina Margaret Bryant Stryker, his sisters Ruth and her husband Mike Flores, Becky and her husband Karl Turner and brother John Stryker all from the Houston area and sister Esther and her husband John Griffing of Georgetown, TX and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

Visitation will be from 12PM until the start of the Funeral Service at 2PM on Saturday, November 16th at Brookside Funeral Home, 13747 Eastex Freeway, Houston, TX 77039.