Daniel Joseph Schulter

Born in 1962, he moved to Tucson with his family in 1969 when he was seven years old. The oldest of three children, he was the son of Francis and Lorraine Schulter.

He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Michelle, his son Joshua Schulter, his daughter and son-in-law Carolyn and Ryan Barnett, and two grandchildren — Theodore and Lillian Barnett. Other survivors include his brother and sister-in-law Garry and Debbie Schulter, his sister and brother-in-law Karen and Paul Madrid, and his sister-in-law Judith Kleinschmidt.

In addition he is survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins, uncles and aunts, and friends. All of them and their families have been extraordinarily supportive and loving, especially in these past two years.

Dan was multi-talented, a man who didn’t need others to take care of his home. But more than that, he was an artist with an artist’s eye for beauty. He used those skills to produce works of art in stained glass, pottery, and Zentangle. He also crocheted, sewed, gardened and baked. And on the weekends, he sang, using a beautiful tenor voice in various church choirs.

That was how he filled his spare time, time left over from education, his own and the education of hundreds of Tucson students.

He graduated in 1980 from Palo Verde High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1985 from the University of Arizona. He used his accounting degree in a family business, S&S Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc. It was a few years into this career that he decided he wanted to teach and returned to school, earning a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University. Later he added a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Arizona to his resume.

Dan’s education career was primarily spent with Tucson Unified School District. He started as a math teacher at Palo Verde and Sabino High Schools. Then he was an instructional coach at Gridley Middle School, assistant principal at Sabino, and principal at Dodge Magnet Middle School. Being Principal at Dodge Magnet Middle School was Dan's proudest accomplishment in his educational career. After he retired, he served as a data analyst for Cholla High School and a curriculum specialist for Fruchthendler Elementary School .

In 2016, he was a finalist for the Arizona Rodel Exemplary Principal Award.

Dan’s life was full — but not too full for other activities such as evenings playing cards with friends and family and travel - lots of travel. Dan loved to travel, and fortunately so did Michelle and his children. They went to England, Germany, Amsterdam and Alaska. There were also trips to lots of cities in the United States as well as to national parks. They loved travel, and Dan had a bucket list of places he wanted to see — especially these last two years as he battled pancreatic cancer.

He and Michelle went to Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Antarctica, and South America, including Uruguay, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. They went to Niagara Falls and took their children and grandchildren to Alaska. He enjoyed the travel so much, that he was ready with all the details for anyone who asked. But as much as he liked going to exotic places, he was equally happy going to places like Bisbee, that old mining town in Southern Arizona.

In fact, Bisbee became his happy place, the place where he wanted to spend his spare time. Fortunately, Michelle was in complete agreement, so they bought a vacation home there.

Despite all these accomplishments and activities, if anyone asked what he was most proud of, he’d immediately say, “My family. My children and my grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Cancer Society in Daniel's memory.