I didn’t know Dan well, but share a love for his daughter. When Aaron and Stephanie started their life together, I grew to love and admire the woman that my son loved and realized she came from a family that was very special, that her parents had raised her to be the loving, smart, inquisitive, caring person she is. They (Dan and Denise) reflected those qualities to their children. I’m thankful for his and Denise’s lives that supported and nurtured their children to pass on their wisdom to the world and the next generations.
Daniel N. Leahy
February 10, 1961 – June 28, 2025
A Celebration of Life service for Daniel Nolan Leahy, age 64, of Rice will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at Shepherd of the Pines Lutheran Church in Rice. Dan passed away on June 28, 2025 after suffering a heart attack while clearing a fallen tree from the road in front of his home. Pastor Mark Marxhausen will officiate.
Visitation will be held on Friday, July 18th from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and one hour prior to the service on Saturday, all at Shepherd of the Pines Church in Rice. Arrangements are with the Daniel Funeral Home in St. Cloud.
Dan was born on February 10th, 1961 in Albany, New York, to John and Barbara (Hungerford). Dan was the oldest of five siblings and leader of mischievous adventure!
After college, Dan made his way to St. Cloud, Minnesota, where he met the love of his life, Denise Zimmerman. Dan and Denise were married in August 1984. Through a series of fortunate events, they found a beautiful place in the woods near Opole, Minnesota, and settled in. Over the next forty years, they raised chickens and children, built a life and home they loved, and became deeply connected to their community.
Dan was employed at the paper mill in Sartell, MN, for most of his working life. After the mill permanently closed in 2012, Dan retooled himself and transitioned to Network Administrator for Morrison County, where he was currently employed. Ever the industrious fixer, Dan met life’s challenges—be they major career shifts, unrelenting car troubles, deciding how best to outfit his tanks in World of Tanks, or anything in between—with quiet ingenuity, selective patience, and an uncanny ability to figure anything out… often with a roll of duct tape.
Dan was the life of the party without ever trying to be—fun, funny, and full of it. Whether it was sitting around campfires with family, on semi-annual canoe trips with his Boundary Waters buddies, or at the deer hunting shack with his sons and extended family, Dan was either telling stories or becoming one. Diagnosed with cancer in recent years, he underwent chemotherapy, but it didn’t slow him down or change his outlook on life. He reminded all of us that life doesn’t have to be picture-perfect to be wonderful.
Dan was preceded in death by his father Jack and his mother Bobbi, both passing earlier this year. He is survived by his wife of 40 years Denise; daughter Stephanie (Aaron) VanRheen of Portland, Oregon and their children Isaac, Nathan, and Evelyn; son Eric (Alex) of Waite Park, MN; and son Benjamin of Deer River, MN. He is also survived by his siblings Tim (Renae); John [Clancy] (Lorraine); Mike (Luann); and Megan (Stanton) and father and mother-in-law, Gary (Sue) Zimmerman; brother and sister-in-laws Doug (Anne) Zimmerman and Colin (Wendy) Lundgren, as well as many nieces and nephews on both sides of the family.
In honor of Dan’s memory, the family invites you to consider a memorial gift to Helping Hands Outreach.
Guestbook
As Ray and I reminisced I listened to Ray sharing when Dan came over to cut down our oak trees that needed to come down as he had a sawmill and could use the wood. At those times Ray learned from Dan what needed to be considered in dropping a tree. Ray respected how much Dan knew and that Dan was willing to share his knowledge. The memory I have is when we found out early one late fall evening the trucker we had hired to move our trailer was coming the next morning. Before then the deck, the back entry and an added bedroom had to be detached. Dan had stopped over Ray can’t remember why, but the two of them worked in the dark with a spotlight to get the job done. Without Dan’s help let’s just say it would not have been a pretty picture. A giving heart and a quick wit will be a treasured memory of Dan.
Services
Schedule Details
A Celebration of Life service for Daniel Nolan Leahy, age 64, of Rice will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at Shepherd of the Pines Lutheran Church in Rice.
Visitation will be held on Friday, July 18th from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and one hour prior to the service on Saturday, all at Shepherd of the Pines Church in Rice. Arrangements are with the Daniel Funeral Home in St. Cloud.