Daniel C. Nienaber

Dan was born 2 1/2 months premature and the fact that he survived is nothing short of a miracle. Dan was an only child. Dan loved life and lived it to the fullest. When he was younger he & his friends would work and do odd jobs to get any kind of spending money. At a young age it was instilled in him to give the first 10% of his money to the Lord. Dan became a Christian at a young age and loved God with all of his heart & soul. God was the first love of Dan’s life.

Dan graduated from Harding High School in St. Paul, MN in 1964. While in high school he met the second love of his life, Joan. They dated for some years and were united in marriage June 22, 1968 at Faith Lutheran Church in St. Paul, MN. Dan then finished his degree and Graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Business & Mathematics in 1970. Dan & Joan worked together for many years serving the Lord as youth leaders & Bible Quiz Coaches at Hazel Park/Faith Alliance Church in St. Paul, MN. During that time, they had a son Paul, who became Dan’s third love. Dan worked his full time job as a mail carrier for 39 years before enjoying retirement. Dan was busier in retirement than when he worked. Dan kept busy studying the Bible, writing Bible studies and teaching Bible classes both at church and in his community of friends right up until his hospitalization.

Anyone who knew Dan knew about his love/“obsession” for auto racing. If it was loud and had four tires, he loved watching it! He & Joan spent many weekends at Twin City Speedway, Raceway Park, Elko Speedway, and particularly Cedar Lake Speedway. He would often be seen with a Super 8 camera in his hand. He later transitioned to a VHS camera and combined his love of filming and racing to create the cottage industry that became known as Nothing Fancy Videos. His videos have made their way all across North America and in some cases, around the world thanks to YouTube.

Dan was preceded in death by his parents Charles Nienaber and Sally (Koski) Nienaber and his in-laws Ione (Shefland) Grams and Willard Grams.

Dan is survived by his loving wife Joan Nienaber, son Paul (Andrea) Nienaber and a myriad of family, friends and “youth group kids.”

A funeral will be held on Saturday, March 28th 2026 at Wulff Funeral Home at 3 pm, with a visitation starting at 1 pm. Private interment at Evergreen Cemetery.

By the way…Dan is in Heaven and he is FANTASTIC!!!