Retired Disciples of Christ pastor and local businessman, Rev. Daniel Lee French of Tahlequah, Okla., died March 19 at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, after an extended illness. He was 72.

A Celebration of Life will begin with a meal at 11 a.m., Sat., March 26 at First Christian Church, 415 NE 2 ^nd Street, Wagoner, Okla. At Dan's request, the gathering of friends and family will include open story-telling time.

Whether in business or ministry, Dan brought a ready laugh, selfless generosity and wise counsel to those whose paths he crossed. He valued family and community deeply and worked tirelessly to contribute to both.

His visionary mind, business acumen and servant's heart made him a compassionate pastor and prophetic leader for the congregations he served.

While vexed by mediocrity at times, his palpable tenderness for people gave him credibility as a trusted and beloved servant of God.

Born Jan. 1, 1950 in Muskogee, Okla., to Tristrum Clyde (T.C.) French and Helen Darlene Rich French, Dan spent his childhood in eastern Oklahoma. His roots ran deepest in Wagoner, where he graduated from high school in 1968, and worked as an orderly and x-ray technician at Wagoner Hospital, the family's medical business.

A life-long member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), he pursued a B.S. in business from Disciples-related Phillips University in Enid, Okla., where he met and married Diane Lou Woods, in 1971.

Following Dan's graduation from Phillips in 1973, the couple made their home in St. Louis, Mo., and later in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he worked for Ford Motor Credit. The work, which included repossessing vehicles, was marked by a number of harrowing experiences that became the fodder for some of the colorful accounts that punctuated conversation with this natural storyteller. While having a loaded weapon aimed at him was traumatic, he said, "the payoff was I lived to tell the story."

While working for Ford Credit, he also served in the Army National Guard and later Air Force National Guard. Thanks in part to his work at Wagoner Hospital, he acclimated quickly to his role as a medic and was honorably discharged after six years of service.

Following the birth of their children, the French family felt the gravitational pull of extended family. So, they moved back to Wagoner, where Dan purchased a local appliance store in 1978 and began doing business as "French Appliance," which he would operate for two decades.

While French Appliance enjoyed a good reputation in Wagoner, Dan felt a vocational vacuum. His early work in the hospital – which nearly led to a medical career – had given him a taste of life in a helping profession. By the mid-1980s, his faith provided the focus. In 1986, his mother began to manage the appliance business, as he responded to the call to ministry.

Dan pursued a Master's of Divinity degree from Phillips Graduate Seminary, in Enid, just as the Enid school began transitioning to a Tulsa campus. The move would shorten his school commute, but add to his responsibilities as student body president. He completed his degree in 1990. Ordination to Christian ministry followed on Feb. 5 of that year.

Dan's 23 years of ministry began with a call to a student pastorate at Memorial Christian Church in Muskogee, Okla., where he first honed his narrative preaching style, and strove to help the congregation find a new passion for ministry.

During his second call – First Christian Church of Broken Arrow, Okla. – Dan's business experience served him well as the church constructed a new sanctuary. The congregation grew significantly under the leadership of this gregarious minister. Noting his success, a number of Disciples of Christ statewide church boards and committees recruited him for leadership.

But the shifting lifestyle from business to ministry took its toll on the family. While serving the church in Broken Arrow, his first marriage dissolved.

He was still engaged in ministry at Broken Arrow when he found love again. Dan and Elizabeth Ann "Beth Ann" Lee French married on Sept. 13, 1993. The couple would enjoy nearly 29 years of marriage, serving together in ministry in three states.

Dan served as senior pastor of Davis Street Christian Church in Ottumwa, Ia., and South Park Christian Church, in Charlotte, N.C. before the tug of home would call again.

Returning to Oklahoma as a new generation of family began to have families of their own, Dan struggled to find a congregational match within driving distance of home in Wagoner. He leaned on his business skills, serving with Jackson Hewitt. Through that position, he learned of a business opportunity in Wagoner, and eventually opened Farmers Insurance: Dan French Agency. Dan grew the business until 2017 when he mentored a new owner and retired.

Dan and Beth Ann moved to Tahlequah in June 2020. They hoped to spend part of their retirement traveling together, but pandemic restrictions limited their options. They constructed a small shop by the house, where Dan could "tinker" at will with wood-working tools.

Dan entered the hospital in early February suffering from chest pains. Bypass heart surgery followed, and he rallied in the ensuing weeks. But later, as multiple systems began to fail, he died peacefully with Beth Ann by his side.

He is survived by his wife, Beth Ann, sons Bill and Brian (Gail), daughter Hilary (Mike), seven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren; his twin brother David and older brother Clark (Hannah) and a host of cousins.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Phillips Theological Seminary or use the link below to plant a tree in his memory.