Post by guy on Jan 31, 2005 14:33:41 GMT -5
Some of you knew my great friend Dan and others on here read about his accomplishments for the first time when he passed away early this month.
Here is an article from the NC charlotte Observer through an Interview with Dans brother Mike
IT'S A MATTER OF LIFE...
Champion athlete won shot put, arm wrestling
Daniel Allen Mason also excelled in sales, but family came first
GERRY HOSTETLER
He came up the hard way, fighting hard in every battle he entered. He used every bit of passion in his body to accomplish his goals.
Daniel Allen Mason died Jan. 15 at his Charlotte home of cancer. He was 51 and was an award-winning salesman for Window Pros.
Dan was also five-time world arm wrestling champ who was inducted into the Arm Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990. He still holds the Western Massachusetts shot put record, which has stood for 32 years.
"He learned early in life to battle through everything and go after everything with enormous passion," said his younger brother, Mike. When Dan coveted the state shot put title, he was relentless. "He would go out every day, for days in the snow and ice -- this is New England, now -- and he not only broke the record, it still stands."
Another incredible instance was winning the 1978 arm wrestling championship at Houston's Astrodome. Dan had an accident a week before the tournament that left him with an 8-inch gash in his wrestling hand. "The doctor said do not wrestle," said Mike. But he did. "The next day an opponent ripped the stitches in his hand and he had to freeze it to kill the pain, but he won the tournament."
Strong arms, kind heart
In his prime, he could bench press 500 pounds, Mike said. "No matter where he went, people gravitated to him. As strong as he was, he had a real kind heart."Cancer struck in the 1980s, and once more, Dan battled with his all. Each time, he'd beat it for a while and then it would return. In 1991 he was given little chance to survive and was getting ready for a bone marrow transplant when a staph infection sent him into toxic shock, Mike said.
"Less than 1 percent survive that, but he made it through, got the marrow transplant and lived 12 years cancer-free."
Dan, who was a football standout in high school, coached youth basketball and Pop Warner football.
He met Michelle Croteau, who would be his wife of 30 years, through her girlfriend when they were 17. "He was a big football star, but when you got to know him, he was soft-spoken, shy and quiet. He was very perceptive and could read people very well. He was not a party person, but one-on-one people loved talking to him. He was pretty inspirational."
Their 1975 marriage welcomed sons Brent and Dean and daughter Elise. "He was a good father and the kids always came first," said Michelle.
The cancer came back to his kidney; he beat that, his brother said. It attacked his lungs and he beat that. "It came back to his lungs and his brain, and he did not beat that."
`We live in his honor'
"He lived every single breath right to the end," Mike said. "He was an overachiever; he lived 70 years in those 51. We are fortunate to have him in our lives and we live in his honor, as he would want us to."
"He was the greatest father who ever lived," his brother said. Dan's son Brent agreed. "He absolutely was wonderful; everything in his life was for us. He made sure we were OK before himself," said Brent. "He was powerful in teaching me how to treat people and understand the world; I figured out how to live my life with respect for others."
"What else matters if your kids don't stand up and think you're incredible?" said Mike. "All the other successes mean very little."
How true, how true, Mike. And Dan had it all, didn't he?
Gerry
Hostetler
Champion athlete won shot put, arm wrestlingHe came up the hard way, fighting hard in every battle he entered. He used every bit of passion in his body to accomplish his goals.
The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time:
www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/columnists/gerry_hostetler/10735147.htm?1c
Here is an article from the NC charlotte Observer through an Interview with Dans brother Mike
IT'S A MATTER OF LIFE...
Champion athlete won shot put, arm wrestling
Daniel Allen Mason also excelled in sales, but family came first
GERRY HOSTETLER
He came up the hard way, fighting hard in every battle he entered. He used every bit of passion in his body to accomplish his goals.
Daniel Allen Mason died Jan. 15 at his Charlotte home of cancer. He was 51 and was an award-winning salesman for Window Pros.
Dan was also five-time world arm wrestling champ who was inducted into the Arm Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990. He still holds the Western Massachusetts shot put record, which has stood for 32 years.
"He learned early in life to battle through everything and go after everything with enormous passion," said his younger brother, Mike. When Dan coveted the state shot put title, he was relentless. "He would go out every day, for days in the snow and ice -- this is New England, now -- and he not only broke the record, it still stands."
Another incredible instance was winning the 1978 arm wrestling championship at Houston's Astrodome. Dan had an accident a week before the tournament that left him with an 8-inch gash in his wrestling hand. "The doctor said do not wrestle," said Mike. But he did. "The next day an opponent ripped the stitches in his hand and he had to freeze it to kill the pain, but he won the tournament."
Strong arms, kind heart
In his prime, he could bench press 500 pounds, Mike said. "No matter where he went, people gravitated to him. As strong as he was, he had a real kind heart."Cancer struck in the 1980s, and once more, Dan battled with his all. Each time, he'd beat it for a while and then it would return. In 1991 he was given little chance to survive and was getting ready for a bone marrow transplant when a staph infection sent him into toxic shock, Mike said.
"Less than 1 percent survive that, but he made it through, got the marrow transplant and lived 12 years cancer-free."
Dan, who was a football standout in high school, coached youth basketball and Pop Warner football.
He met Michelle Croteau, who would be his wife of 30 years, through her girlfriend when they were 17. "He was a big football star, but when you got to know him, he was soft-spoken, shy and quiet. He was very perceptive and could read people very well. He was not a party person, but one-on-one people loved talking to him. He was pretty inspirational."
Their 1975 marriage welcomed sons Brent and Dean and daughter Elise. "He was a good father and the kids always came first," said Michelle.
The cancer came back to his kidney; he beat that, his brother said. It attacked his lungs and he beat that. "It came back to his lungs and his brain, and he did not beat that."
`We live in his honor'
"He lived every single breath right to the end," Mike said. "He was an overachiever; he lived 70 years in those 51. We are fortunate to have him in our lives and we live in his honor, as he would want us to."
"He was the greatest father who ever lived," his brother said. Dan's son Brent agreed. "He absolutely was wonderful; everything in his life was for us. He made sure we were OK before himself," said Brent. "He was powerful in teaching me how to treat people and understand the world; I figured out how to live my life with respect for others."
"What else matters if your kids don't stand up and think you're incredible?" said Mike. "All the other successes mean very little."
How true, how true, Mike. And Dan had it all, didn't he?
Gerry
Hostetler
Champion athlete won shot put, arm wrestlingHe came up the hard way, fighting hard in every battle he entered. He used every bit of passion in his body to accomplish his goals.
The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time:
www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/columnists/gerry_hostetler/10735147.htm?1c
