Dan Fleming

Dan Fleming, 79, beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, and Inventor, joined the saints eternal on Jan. 24th, 2025, after a long battle with prostate cancer. Dan was born on a snowy Christmas day in Ottumwa, Iowa, where he spent his formative years shooting marbles and playing the French Horn, graduating class of ’64 from Ottumwa HS. 

A proud Cyclone, he attended Iowa State, earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. During college he began dating his hometown sweetheart Gayle, who he met in 7th grade band class. They married on June 20th, 1970, and faithfully and lovingly spent 54 ½ years together. Not long after college, Dan proudly served his country in the US Navy for 4 years as an aircraft simulator instructor in Pensacola, Florida. After receiving an honorable discharge, Dan and Gayle moved back to St, Paul, MN for his job at 3M, which he started just prior to being drafted. A fruitful 43-year career at 3M led to multiple granted patents, reaching Division Scientist in Commercial Graphics. 

During that time, Dan and Gayle settled in Stillwater, starting a family with two children, Courtney Schaan (Brad) of Stillwater, MN, and Christopher Fleming (Kelly) of Durham, NC. Dan and Gayle traveled extensively, seeing their “Big Chill” crew of high school friends several times over the years. Upon retirement, Dan and Gayle were blessed with four beautiful grandchildren, Anna & Jackson (Fleming), and Sophia & Sydney (Schaan), whom Dan loved dearly and was so incredibly proud of their accomplishments. He was very supportive of all their interests, both on and off the field. Dan also spent his free time on the golf course, developing lasting friendships in his twilight years. 

Dan was preceded in death by his mother (Mary Louise) and father (Milton LeRoy). 

He is survived by his wife, Gayle; his children, Courtney and Christopher; brother, Dennis (Brenda) and his nieces, Denys (Nicholas) and Danielle (Eric). 

In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer memorials to fund cancer research (cancer.org), as many in charge have recently stifled innovation, ignoring the pleas of families like ours to find new treatments for devastating diseases.

Memorial service Sunday, February 16, 2025, 11:00 A.M. at Bradshaw Celebration of Life Center, 2800 Curve Crest Boulevard, Stillwater with visitation one hour prior to the service.