Dan Lucas Doolen

Aug. 17, 1968-Oct. 23, 2023

Dan Doolen, 55, of Sparta, Illinois, died Oct. 23 at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, after suffering a stroke Oct. 20 while working for CSI near Valmeyer, Illinois.

Dan was born Aug. 17, 1968, in Litchfield, Illinois, to Gerald Leslie Doolen and Nina Marie (Hodge) Doolen. He joined sister Dina Lynn and brother Damon Leslie. The family moved to Sparta in November 1970.

Dan was a natural athlete, but played for the love of sport, not recognition. He played pool so much when he was in his teens and 20s, that he owned a cue and case. He loved Sparta and knew its history, including filming locations and other details of the Oscar-winning film "In the Heat of the Night."

He was well-acquainted with many old-time citizens. He made friends everywhere he went and told his family detailed and animated stories about interesting people he had met, places he'd been and experiences he'd had.

In addition to his family, countless friends, acquaintances and co-workers influenced him. He considered Dick Lemon a mentor and was strongly influenced by his youth baseball coach Don Rheinecker and his family, including his sons David and Corey.

Dan lived a full life dedicated to helping and enjoying his family, working and doing a good job. He was a truck driver and bus driver. He excelled throughout his career and had every driving endorsement and many special certifications. He was a trainer on many of his jobs. Whether on the job or in day-to-day life, he was respectful and very courteous.

His various jobs took him all over the country, including New York state, Washington, D.C., Mississippi, Louisiana, and the Great Plains, as well as northern Mexico. He lived in Tucson, Arizona, for about a decade doing various jobs that took him to all four corners of the state, and he absorbed the history and geography of the Southwest.

When niece Tiffanie Doolen was growing up, Dan was like a big brother to her, taking her for rides in his pickup, taking her fishing, buying her toys and good-naturedly teasing her. He was always helping his mom improve her home, doing things like stripping wallpaper, painting rooms and putting in a ceiling fan.

Dan raised his stepdaughter Samantha "Sami" Gentry and her brothers, Nick, Robbie and Dylan, all of whom now have their own children. Besides working, Dan's weeks were filled with caring for his father, his and his father's pup Scooter, and his stepdaughter. He loved being "Paw-Paw" to her sons Karter and Ryker. They celebrated their birthdays and holidays together with his father every year. Dan was looking forward to trick-or-treating and spending Halloween with them at an RV site at the World Shooting Complex.

He was very close with his brother and sister. They most recently were together in 2022 to celebrate their father's 85th birthday.

Dan loved camping, history, family history, reading, learning new technology and listening to music, especially old country, blues, soul, and rhythm and blues. He kept a large garden with his father and enjoyed keeping up the yard and fixing and improving things around the house, as well as caring for his stepdaughter's yard, doing such things as weeding and shoveling her sidewalks clear of snow in winter. He was an excellent self-taught cook and an expert at grilling and smoking meats.

He enjoyed working for "Fatty" Schweitzer at AM Arbor Tree Service, even when he had other full-time jobs.

He volunteered keeping up the Doolen-North Fork Cemetery near Kinmundy, Illinois, and would decorate around his mother's and other family members' graves for various holidays and family occasions.

Dan was a Teamster and belonged to the Du Quoin Fraternal Order of Eagles.

He is survived by father Gerald Doolen of Sparta; brother Damon Doolen of Crown Point, Indiana; sister Dina Doolen (and Sue Goldstein) of Tucson, Arizona; niece Tiffanie Ann Marie Doolen of Nashville, Tennessee; uncles Glenn Doolen of Kinmundy, Illinois, and John Doolen of Mount Prospect, Illinois; aunts Barbara Shanafelt of Granite City, Illinois; and Linda Doolen of Los Alamos, New Mexico; as well as numerous cousins. He is predeceased by his mother Nina Maria (Hodge) Doolen; maternal grandparents Oral Everett and Minnie Bell (Dulaney) Hodge; paternal grandparents Gilbert and Mabel (Headley) Doolen; uncles Wayne Shanafelt, Charles Hodge and Don Hodge; and aunts Dorothy Doolen, Dolores Hodge and Lorraine Claybaugh; as well as cousins across the country, including Howard Leslie Doolen.

Visitation will be 1-3 p.m. Oct. 29 at Wilson's Funeral Homes, 509 W. Illinois St., Steeleville, Illinois. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m., Oct. 30 at Doolen-North Fork Cemetery near Kinmundy, Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to an education fund for Samantha Gentry and her sons. Contact the Doolen family for information.