Paul Kenneth Dano was called to his Lord on the morning of February 27, 2014. He was born in Chicago, IL on January 29, 1935. He was preceded in death by his father, Paul Dano, his mother, Lillian Rock Dano and brother-in-law, James E. Sipes. Paul was reared in Benton Harbor, MI, and following high school graduation attended the University of Michigan. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in August, 1954. After basic training, he taught electronic courses at Camp Pendleton and Treasure Island. Upon discharge in 1957, he continued teaching electronics at Fort Bliss Army Base located in El Paso, TX, while attending night classes at Texas Western College (UTEP). He interrupted his college career in January, 1959, to train in Boston, MA, enabling him to install the computer that operated the early warning radar site (Dew Line) in Thule, Greenland. He returned to El Paso in August, 1960, to finish his degree in Physics. While at TWC he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, a member of the student council and a cheerleader.
Upon graduation in 1962 he worked at the Naval Electronics Lab in San Diego but returned to El Paso and designed equipment for Globe Exploration. It was then that he met and married Shirley Rouse in 1967. In 1969 he and six others formed Del Norte Technology where he served as Executive Vice-President and a member of the Board of Directors. The company moved from El Paso to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area in 1972 in order to facilitate easier international travel from the newly opened DFW airport. During his career Paul received 12 patents for his electronic inventions. He invented positioning systems that were used by Naval vessels (British Navy used it during the Falkland War), oil rig platforms, dredges, crop dusters and even the man-made island that was created for the Narita airport in Osaka Bay, Japan, in the mid-1980’s.
Paul visited all 7 continents, over 90 countries and 48 US states. He worked with computers that took up the entire floor of a building to lap tops. He retired in the late 1990’s after developing GPS technologies. He and Shirley moved to Cedar Creek Lake in East Texas so Paul could continue his life-long love of racing sailboats. In 2005 they moved to Horseshoe Bay in the Texas Hill Country. Paul was a member at the Church at Horseshoe Bay and a volunteer at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, TX. He enjoyed participating in the Photography Club in Marble Falls, TX and presenting travel programs at the International Club in Horseshoe Bay.
Paul is survived by his wife, Shirley, his daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth Lee and Mike Mitchell of Buda, TX, and their children Michael, Alexis and Matthew and his son, Paul Harvey Dano of Round Rock, TX. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Elizabeth Sipes and Leona (Larry) McFarlin of El Paso and his niece, Nicole McFarlin (Buddy) Vass of Waco, TX.
A memorial service will be held at the Church at Horseshoe Bay on Tuesday, March 11, at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Church at Horseshoe Bay Benevolence Fund, P.O. Box 8295, Horseshoe Bay, TX 78657 or a charity of your choice.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18