Obituary: Daniel DeYoung (1923-2013)

By Kathleen J. Sullivan

A campus memorial service will be held from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22, for Daniel DeYoung, whose Stanford career began as manager of industrial engineering at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and ended 17 years later as executive assistant to the vice president for business and finance.

DeYoung died at his Stanford home on July 15.  He was 90.

The memorial service will be held in the garden of DeYoung's campus home at 518 Governor's Ave. Light refreshments will be served. Those who would like to attend are asked to email Audrey Gold, audreygold@gmail.com, or call Mary Hutchinson, (650) 823-0854, by Sept. 15.

DeYoung arrived at Stanford in 1963 after retiring from the U.S. Army. His first job on campus was at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (as SLAC was then known). He held the position from 1963-67.

During his career at Stanford, DeYoung also served as assistant business manager (1968-71), director of the physical plant (1971-74), director of service operations (1974-78), and executive assistant to the vice president for business and finance (1978-79). He retired from Stanford in 1979.

"Dan was deeply devoted to Stanford," said Larry Horton, senior associate vice president for government and community relations and a longtime friend.

"He served with distinction in senior administrative posts. In retirement, he was always eager to volunteer to help Stanford. He was an adviser to students and a tireless advocate for Stanford in local controversies. He was a kind and gentle spirit. I also learned the hard way that he was a shrewd and formidable poker player. He was devoted to his family. He made friends easily and kept up with them. He will be missed by many, many people here," Horton said.

DeYoung, who was born in Washington, D.C., in 1923, served in the U.S. Army in World War II. He met his future wife, Lynne, during a hospital stay in Sydney, Australia, where he was recovering from combat wounds. DeYoung spent 21 years in the service and retired in 1963 as a lieutenant colonel.

A full burial service with military honors will be performed for DeYoung this fall at Arlington National Cemetery.

While he was in the Army, DeYoung earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and an MBA from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. 

After leaving Stanford, DeYoung joined Coca-Cola Co. as director of college and university relations. Later, he joined Bechtel Corp., which assigned him to several projects in the United States, New Zealand, Brunei and Saudi Arabia.

He served as president of the Stanford Campus Residential Leaseholders Inc. Santa Clara County appointed him to the Regional Financing Authority for the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency.

For many years in retirement, he was an active member and president of the Fellowship Forum, a group of mostly retired men that meet for lunch each week to listen to speakers and discuss public issues.

In 1999, the Undergraduate Advising Center honored DeYoung as an "Adviser of Highest Distinction, 20 years" for his work as a volunteer student adviser. In 2004, DeYoung arranged a three-day campus visit by artist Giovanna Paponetti and Tony Reyna, a former governor of the Taos Pueblo, so Stanford students could meet them. Paponetti, who had been commissioned to paint portraits of Pueblo elders and historical paintings of the Taos Pueblo for a mural series, gave a talk at the Cantor Arts Center about preserving heritage in multicultural societies.

DeYoung is survived by a brother, Alan DeYoung, of Corvallis, Ore.; two sons,

Alan John DeYoung of Lexington, Ky., and Paul DeYoung of Portland, Ore.; and six grandchildren. DeYoung's wife and one grandson preceded him in death.

In lieu of flowers, the DeYoung family requests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California and Northern Nevada.

Courtesy of Stanford News Service