On the day that Dan Keenan was born, in 1955, he was destined to be a Nordic skier. His family skied, and even his doctor made some cardboard skis and strapped them to baby Dan’s feet. Dan excelled at the sport and was honoured to be part of the US Nordic Ski Team in 1974 and the Combine Team in 1975. The ski team was the first American team to go to Russia. Dan Keenan ranked as the #1 U.S. Nordic Combine skier for 3 years and finished 10th in the world! Dan competed for a position on the Olympic team but was disabled when he broke his foot on a record-setting jump.
Playing high school football was another favourite of Dan’s; he wore #52 for his team and played positions at centre, middle linebacker, and kicker at Middle Park High School in Granby, Colorado.
When the opportunity arose to get into the cattle business, Dan jumped into it wholeheartedly, raising and feeding cattle and farming to raise alfalfa hay. Dan owned and ran Keenan Kattle Company near Rifle for 28 years and owned his own truck to haul cattle from the high country.
Dan drove trucks throughout Colorado and nation-wide for 39 years, specialising in hauling difficult heavy equipment over long distances and in rough mountain terrain.
Both of these careers allowed Dan to be in the great outdoors, which he loved, until the diagnosis of A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in 2010.
On November 26, 2012, Dan Keenan lost his battle with ALS. Dan’s family said he kept a positive, upbeat attitude and brought joy to those he knew. Dan was a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather too. His family was so important to him, and it showed with all the love returned to Dan by his family as his physical abilities became more limited. With ALS, even eating and breathing become challenges. Dan’s care required the constant attention of his family and friends, along with special equipment to assist him.