Dan Arthur Mask's Obituary
Dan Arthur Mask, Sr. was born December 17, 1942 in Crockett, Texas to Frank and Diamond Mask, both of whom preceded him in death. Dan passed away May 9th, 2017 in the morning with his family by his side. He fought a five-month long courageous battle against an aggressive form of lymphoma cancer. As a child, Dan was raised by his aunt, Jane Blackshear, who had no children of her own. Dan’s mother passed away while he was just a young boy; Mrs. Blackshear also raised his father, Frank Mask, Sr. She raised Dan in the AME United Methodist church, and even though her education was limited, she instilled in him the value of education and a love of the Lord. She always wanted him to be the best that he could be in life. Dan attended Williams High School in Crockett, TX where he excelled in his studies. After graduation, he attended Paul Quinn College in Waco, TX where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics. He played basketball for Paul Quinn, and he was scouted to play for the St. Louis Hawks in the early 1960’s. Unfortunately, a knee injury kept him from furthering his opportunity in the NBA draft, but his love of basketball still remained. He continued his Masters coursework in Mathematics at Prairie View University. Dan met and married his wife, Ernestine, while they both taught at Ralph Bunch High School in Crockett, TX. They were married on August 26, 1967. This year would have been their 50th wedding anniversary, but the lymphoma cancer surprisingly took his life. Not only is his family devastated by the change of events, but they are sure that Dan would not want any of you to grieve for him. He is free and following the path that God laid out for him. God wanted him to come home and set him free of his pains. Dan started playing golf in Houston, TX in the 1970’s. He quickly climbed the golf ranks and was shooting in the low 70’s in no time at all. Golf was his favorite sport. He joined the Pro-Duffers USA Southwest chapter in Dallas with encouragement from his best friend at the time, Lorenzo Dixon. He has participated in and helped sponsor many of the club’s projects. His final and most impassioned project was helping to fundraise and facilitate college scholarships for students planning to attend Paul Quinn College. He has served as President of his chapter along with many other roles over his years with the Pro-Duffers. Amazingly, Dan has had 7 holes-in-one in his lifetime. At 6’6″ tall, Dan was fondly known to grace the golf course wearing colorful knickers and matching hats, much like the late, great Payne Stewart. Even though Dan was an avid golfer, he spent most of his free time with his wife and family. He loved watching sports in his man cave, and he was often seen working long hours on special projects for golf or work. He played many tournaments with the Pro-Duffers and the Texas State Amateur Golf Association over his three decades. However, one of his greatest joys was watching his youngest daughter, Danielle, play golf. She played throughout high school and was recruited to play for Texas State University. Dan never missed a golf tournament in all of her four years of play. Also, he enjoyed traveling with Ernestine to many places to visit relatives and close friends whenever time permitted. Dan worked for several great companies throughout his life. He retired from IBM after 25 years of service, and he transitioned to work for one of the Big Five accounting firms at the time, KPMG. As was characteristic of Dan, he always had an entrepreneur’s spirit. He, at one point, created and developed his own vending company as he planned to turn it into a family business. After all of his life experiences in the sales and marketing world, he took what he knew and developed a passion for serving clients in the financial industry. The way he could connect and care for clients on an individual level gave him his truest calling. He became a Financial Advisor first with Edward Jones Investments, and then he later transitioned in partnership to Wells Fargo Advisors where he ultimately finished out his career. He is survived by this wife of 49+ years, four children, Dan Rodell Mask, Dan A. Mask, II, Dorothy Mask Boykin, and Danielle Mask Gomez. He also has three grandchildren: Dan A. Mask, III; Jasmine Jackson and 10-month old grandson, Graham Allen Gomez. Siblings: Ben Mask, James Curtis Mask, Frank Mass, and Lela J. Victor (Pinkie). There are also a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, and special friends. In lieu of flowers, please contribute to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in honor of Dan A. Mask, Sr. https://donate.lls.org. A celebration of Dan’s life will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, May 20, 2017 at Restland Memorial Chapel with visitations held one hour prior to the service.
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