This is a tough one for me to write, and I had put it off until I could compose myself first.

We first met Dan and Kathy about 10 years ago through mutual friends. Dan and I became close, sharing a love of cars, beer, and hockey - even though he was a dedicated Red Wings fan and I follow the Sharks!

In many ways Dan became the (younger) brother I never had, and we shared our joys and sorrows about life. I gained as much from the relationship as he did, and we respected each other. We even mostly agreed about politics!

The pic below is Dan and me listening to a Sharks game during a Joe Sharino concert at Guglielmo Winery - the girls were off dancing! Judging by our respective facial expressions I think the Sharks were winning!

I will miss him greatly!

Just one fond memory of many shared moments with the Reno's over the past 15 years. What a wonderful New Years Eve. Still breaks our hearts to acknowledge that he's no longer with us.  Condolences to Kathy and the rest of the family.  We love you and are here for you.

Kathy, Sarah, Kyle - 

My condolences and support for all of you. I have many great memories of Dan as the kids were small (parties, mountain bike rides, an errant water heater, other fun stuff) and have a hole in my heart for him. My life is richer for having him in it.

Mike


Dan: Fearless
I first met Dan back in the Hitachi GST days. Throughout the years, we would end up working for and against each other, as we navigated through the many mergers and reorgs. We worked alongside our ecosystem partners, where he was so passionate about understanding our customer’s needs and defining what the market needed from us. He was a very active Board member for the SCSI Trade Association (STA) and for the 20th Anniversary celebration, Dan produced a rather hilarious video, where he wore nearly every piece of STA swag that he collected over the years. He managed to get his dog in the act too. Dan was never afraid to jump right in and figure it out along the way. Should he stumble, he was quick to get right back up and find another way. He will be missed and may he rest in peace.

Dan was a character. Passionate about his job and his interests. I had a chance to work with him for a few years, including a stint as his manager. Like a "dog with a bone" he wouldn't let it go if he believed strongly. And I have to admit, many times he was right and was able to persuade me to change my position. His tremendous experience in our industry, and deep relationships in the company, allowed him to navigate across organizational lines to accomplish his goals. As we began to pay a lot more attention to our cloud customers, Dan advocated strongly for the OEM customers he served. He was authentic and transparent, you knew exactly where you stood.

Others have highlighted his love for cars. He gave me ride home one evening in his Tesla Model 3, and took great pleasure in educating me about all it's features. He really enjoyed and appreciated the combination of automotive and computer technology.

He also had a quirky sense of humor and we shared a lot of laughs together. I still have the "senior moment" sign he gifted me on my 60th birthday. Sharing a couple of photos from a team building trip to Yosemite. He will be missed...

My sincere condolences to Kathy and family.

I was very surprised to hear of Dan’s passing. I too have many fond memories of time spent with Dan.  Looking back I believe I have worked with Dan for over 35 years.  Throughout that time we had periods where we worked together every day and then would not see each other for a few years.  Dan was a great asset to WD and will be truly missed for his knowledge, positive attitude, and big smile.  I looked back through my old photos and found this one from Comdex 1992 in Las Vegas where we took a side tour to Hoover Dam.   I guess mustaches were in style in 1992. Rest In Peace Dan. 


I have so many fond memories of Dan, the son in law of my friend and neighbor. When he visited in Michigan we would enjoy the lake activities and work on projects at my friend’s house (he was handy and I am not).  He was always so friendly and patient as I tried to help him. My heart breaks for Kathy, Kyle and Sarah as they mourn the loss of their husband and father. May God give you peace and comfort in the days and weeks ahead. I am praying for all of you. 

My sincere condolences to Kathy and family.  

I have so many fond/fun memories of time spent with Dan... renting from him at his house in NE Rochester and helping him finish the basement; IBM softball league with Dan as our captain and pitcher; Dan talked me into taking a scuba diving class as they were one person short to hold the class; Dan singing ‘Born to Run’ at the Eagles club; and of course Dan was the soloist at our wedding (picture below). 

The ski trip to Switzerland... several stories I could share about that trip;  One I always remember. Dan and I went to buy train tickets in Switzerland to ski in Zermatt for the day. Dan was attempting to converse with the gentlemen at the ticket counter in German. He turned to me at one point and asked me how you say “departure”  in German, at which point the gentlemen behind the counter said “oh. you speak English. Let’s just use that”. Or the incredibly steep run Dan talked me into trying. Not too far down, Dan wiped out and slid about 100 yards down. I managed to get down to where he lost his ski and pick that up. After we met up at the bottom, this lady skis up and hands Dan an item he lost when he fell...one of the hard rolls from breakfast he had in his pocket for a snack.

 Memories I will cherish forever!  The entire Reno family is in our prayers.  
    Ken Linn (Lisa Linn)

Kathy and Family,
I am so saddened by Dan's passing.  He and I worked together for over 5 years and we bumped into each other regularly during the last 4.  He was kind, honest, a wonderful colleague and great friend.  I remember very well the years we worked together, from when I joined WD to when our org finally merged with HGST.  My fondest memory was spending the day with Dan and Kathy at Monserrat in Spain.  It was beautiful, sunny, and peaceful all at the same time.  And to this day I remember it all.  I will miss Dan a lot, as will many many others.

Kathy & family, I will be praying for you and your family in these difficult times.  Deepest condolences from me and my family.

Kathy and family,

We were saddened to hear the news of Dan’s passing. We have so many memories with Dan and you. Progressive dinners, hanging out at the house, your wedding and welcoming your first born, Sarah. We had so much fun in Traverski with Dan. Dan was always the life of the party. Ken remembers the old house they shared as roommates and the great times they had there.
You are all in our thoughts and prayers. 

Ken and Lisa Linn
Rochester, MN

Dan was a great person who was respected by customers and coworkers. In his position, he had the opportunity to meet many people and I am sure will be missed by countless people. Dan always took the time to help people understand key points and always did this in a kind and professional manner. I am honored to have been able to work with him and get to know him.   I wish Dan's family much strength during this difficult time.  

This is such sad news.  

I can't really add much to what others have already said, but Dan was a special guy and a good friend.    His passion and insight was really something special, that wasn't common even among other storage professionals. 

Some of my favorite times working closely with Dan were on the patents that we share together.  Prior to those times, I already respected Dan for what he did for the company but it was really nice to work with him closely and I got to see yet another side of him that made me really appreciate him as a passionate, dedicated person.

RIP Dan

So sad and shocking. Dan used to work here in Rochester and hung out with a gang of us all hired by IBM in the early 80's. Since he moved to CA I didn't see him much but after I hired back into the disk drive business 7yrs ago...we've worked with each other a bit.
It was good to see him on his visits to Rochester from CA.
I have a couple of great memories of Dan. The one being associated with the collage of pictures that still stare at me in front of my elliptical in my basement. I'll attach it. It is a picture from a blazing hot day where our gang tried to camp on a sand bar in the middle of the Mississippi. The tents were like ovens and we only stayed 1 night. I recall Dan jumping in the water to cool off and floated down the middle of the Mississippi without a life jacket. I thought omgosh, that is so dangerous! But he was having a great time....and must have been an excellent swimmer!  The picture is of me, my girlfriend (now wife), and Dan.

Reno was a beautiful man.   

From day one to my last day working with Dan at WD he always pushed me to be better.  In my times of confusion he was always willing to lend an ear.   He made it fun through many long turns in the road.

The many business trips where we would take turns presenting different aspects of the products...I remember the smile, the energy and the passion as we would prep at breakfast the morning of the meeting.   He just got it.

Surprisingly I am at IBM and Dan would present to me, the customer now.  And he still had that same passion and alignment that I remember from 10 years ago.   But most importantly I still saw the man who invited me to his home for a beer when I would visit San Jose.  Whenever we crossed paths he always greeted me with a bear hug.  Giving you a hug right now.

Our family passes along our deepest condolences to Dan's family and friends.

I’m sadden and shocked to hear the news of Dan’s sudden passing. I still remember Dan’s infectious smile that could light up a room. He was full of positive energy. I’ve worked with Dan for the past 5 years and he had incredible technical knowledge of the HDD industry. He was very well respected for voicing the concerns of the customers to engineering. 

Dan was a very caring individual who would always be willing to help anyone in need. When I injured my foot from a race, I came into the office with a very noticeable hobble. The very next day Dan brought in a cane and insisted that I use it until my foot fully healed. I didn’t know how to use a cane, so Dan showed me the proper way to use it. He realized that others might need help learning to use a cane, so he proceeded to have me record him with instructions on how to use a cane. He posted this video online to share with the world his detailed instructions.

My deepest condolences to his family and friends. Dan will be truly missed!


Intellect, Passion, Friendship: 
These are the words that come to mind when I think of Dan. While you may at first work with Dan as a colleague, you soon became life long Friends. Everyday he exhibited Passion to do the right thing and Inspired the same in others. He could interpret nuance and obscurity and turn it into Clarity and Purpose.  

From my Family to Yours: Our deepest Love and Support. 

You will be missed Dan... seems like just yesterday when we last joked in the stairwell at Western Digital.  My heart is heavy for the Reno family.  Sending  my love, prayers and above all strength as you manage you way through this very difficult time.   


I was blessed to have a working relationship with Dan for too many years to recall. I always enjoyed our meetings, conversations, and sharing of what was going on in our lives. Rest in peace Dan. I will miss you. Thank you for your friendship and the laughter we shared.


I'm deeply saddened to hear of Dan's passing.  I immediately thought of all the times we talked, the variety of things we discussed, and the enthusiasm he showed for what he was really passionate about.  We worked in the same office and got to see each other a lot.  Our friendship was tested in 2011 when his Red Wings faced the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Semi-final playoffs.  Fortunately Dan was gracious as always when the Sharks prevailed.  Dan would help anyone in any way he could.  Sometimes he was even my tech support.  He once helped me figure out WiFi issues I had at home and even gave me equipment he had to help solve the problem.  I'll miss him and his authentic way about him.  Rest In Peace my friend.

I'll always remember Dan for his warm, welcoming smile. My first day at the office and he was the greeting party! He was always up for a chat, and the volumes of pictures of his family showed where his true values lie. He had confidence and conviction in his work, but was also never afraid to slow the conversation down and ensure the right questions were being asked. I'll never forget watching him sing on stage in front of the whole company, what bravery! Dan set an example for others and seemed to have lived life to the fullest. May you rest in peace buddy, you will be missed.

I first met Dan back in 2014 when we worked on a small project together. We got along very well at work and we two were usually the last to leave work. He would always jocularly tell me to turn off the lights before I leave. He will always be remembered for the cheer he brought to the office space. My sincere condolences to his family. 

Hari

Dan Reno, Action Hero: 
I sat next to Dan for the last three years and knew him as the ‘action hero’. I remember that he made his PowerPoint presentations the same way he lived his life. Big and bold. He had and often used his great stage voice. He could effortlessly make his booming voice be heard above the ruckus of any meeting, to stop it from going off track. I will also always remember his catch phrase “Hold on a moment” for times when he didn’t need to use his voice super power.
Dan the Handyman:
Dan would go on and on about how he was fixing siding on his house, fixing a pool cover, fixing dishwasher drains, or getting some cool new tool. He loved talking about how he would work with his son, passing on knowledge and cherishing the time they spent together. It was obvious that those times that he spent working with his son meant the world to him…
Dan the Car Aficionado:
Dan was definitely a car guy. His Tesla was his newest baby, and he knew that car inside and out. I remember his tenacity in working with Tesla to make sure he was getting the latest software update for his car and he would regale us with the latest Tesla news and happenings. Telling us about his neighbors “batman car” was also a fun topic he liked to discuss.
Dan the Entertainer:
Dan was famous for his gregarious nature and tireless desire to sing karaoke at Christmas parties. He had a natural life-of-the-party good nature. He was also well known and liked in the industry where he spent over three decades. 

Deepest condolences and sympathy to all of his family and friends.

Thanks for sharing your life with us Dan. You will be missed and your memory will be eternal.

Dan was the engineer’s marketing dream. He clearly communicated what the customer thought  like no one else. We had great conversations over the years and made a difference in the industry. 
One of my favorite memories was taking Dan for a ride in my new Tesla with Insane Mode. Better than a E ticket ride.  Dan eventually got a Model 3 and maybe I had something to do with planting that seed. 
We were working closely with Dan  for the last year predicting the future. Dan is irreplaceable and will be greatly missed. Condolences and Best wishes to Dan’s family. 

I remember Dan from his crazy ability to write customer meeting notes that not so much captured the meeting as much as captured every single phrase, nuisance and action.  You knew that you didn't need to go to any customer meeting if you got a copy of Dan's notes.

I remember that Dan was completely tied at the hip with Doug P.  They were in essence, during their heyday, the equivalent to Batman and Robin.  Dan "looked" the side kick, but the boy wonder definitely had a personality all of his own.

As part of the hard drive community, we bring "free storage" to the world.  I've always considered our job of delivering a product to a customers as much as a calling as a job.  We were always proud to figure out how to do it better.  I'm proud to say that I was able to work by Dan as one of our own in the field.  

While history may someday forget the individuals such as Dan that carried out message out to our field and our customers, I know that the impact that we left on the world will never be forgotten.  

I'll say good-bye to Dan with the same affection that I said goodbye to Jim McGrath, Mark Evans, and the others that went before him, and I'll remember the time we share in the field together.  

My deepest sympathies and condolences to his family and friends.

“Dan the man” was a great friend to me at HGST/WDC. We got along over cars and coffee, and him being a huge engineering guru, would help mentor me with technical stuff at work.  I will miss Dan and his gregarious nature,  sense of humor, and fist-bumps in the hallways. My biggest condolences to the family, loved ones, and friends...


OBITUARY

Daniel Donald Reno

July 23, 1961 – March 3, 2020

Oak Hill Funeral Home & Memorial Park

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