Daniel L. Diaz

Daniel L. Diaz, age 59, of Watertown, SD, passed away on Monday, July 12, 2021, at his residence.  Memorial Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, July 16, 2021 at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church. Fr. John Fischer will be the celebrant. Music will be provided by Jane Rokusek as organist with Addyson Diaz, Avelina Diaz, Kyla Diaz, Alyssa Cassels, Samantha Becht, Alexandra Ebsen, and Jacob Ebsen as song leaders.  The family is requested to meet at the church at 10:00 a.m. for a prayer service. The service will be Live-Streamed via the Crawford-Osthus Facebook page.

Visitation will be at Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel on Thursday from 5-7 p.m. with a prayer service at 7:00 p.m., and prior to services at the church on Friday. 

Burial will be at St. Mary's Cemetery in Watertown.  Honorary Urnbearers will be Dan’s seven nieces.  Active Urnbearers will be Jeremiah Diaz, Matt Diaz, Manuel Diaz, and Gabriel Diaz.

Dan was born on January 7, 1962, in Wenatchee, WA, to Manuel and Bonny (Warfield) Diaz.  He attended Wenatchee High School and graduated in 1980.  He attended Wenatchee Valley College where he obtained an AA Degree and then attended Utah State University for Forestry Engineer. 

He worked for Washington State Department of Transportation from 1986-1998 before moving to Watertown, SD, where he worked at Persona until 2016.  In 2016, he started to work for Sparton until his illness forced him to retire. 

Dan met Kim Becht in 1994 and they were married on July 17, 1999, at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church.  They were blessed with the adoption of two boys, Layne and Jeremiah.  They enjoyed watching the kids in their activities, loved his sports, especially cheering on the MN Twins and MN Vikings.  He was known for his passion of crossword puzzles, feeding the birds and dogs, and his love for music.  Dan was the king of “Dad Jokes.”

He was a member of the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church where he taught CCD classes for several years and also coached softball and soccer when his kids were younger.  Dan was a very generous person who always looked out for others. 

Dan is survived by his wife, Kim Diaz of Watertown; one son, Jeremiah Diaz of Watertown; two brothers, Matt (Stacy) Diaz of Breckenridge, MN, and Manuel (Norma) Diaz of Leavenworth, WA; two sisters, Maria (Robert Weaver) Diaz of Wenatchee, WA, and Teresa Gelb of Wenatchee, WA; his in-laws, Don and Judy Becht of Watertown, SD; seven nieces and two nephews; and one great-niece; and his brothers and sisters-in law, Kelly (Ken) Wrede of Rapid City, SD, and Doug (Myrna) Becht of Clear Lake, SD. 

Dan is preceded in death by his son, Layne Diaz; and his parents. 

Arrangements by Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel of Watertown, Hayti, De Smet, Bryant.     www.crawfordosthus.com

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