Daniel Zbegner – Obituary
Daniel Zbegner was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA on Nov. 2, 1956. He departed this earth on May 4th, 2016 at the Gatehouse in Williamsport, PA. He was raised in Laurel Run and Wilkes-Barre Township. Attending W-B Township Elementary and High School, he graduated from Coughlin High in 1974.
Dan’s mother, Betty resides in Plains and his father Joseph passed in 1991. His father was the supervisor of the roads in the township for many years. Dan had 7 siblings: Joseph (Liz) of Colorado, Susan deceased, Paul (Mary) of Tunkhannock, Mary from Florida, Catherine Amitia (Tony) of Jim Thorpe, Liz (Kenny) Dwyer of Plains, and Martin (Shari) of Dupont.
After high school Dan enlisted in the Navy and attended boot camp at the Great Lakes with brother Paul. Big Dan was very proud of his 6 years of military service. He was stationed on 3 ships: the Mitcher, the Albany and the Barney. The computers he controlled shot Tartar missiles surface-to-surface and surface-to-air. It wasn’t just a job; it was an adventure. He travelled to at least 18 foreign countries during his service. He was stationed in Giata, Italy for a year and home ported in Norfolk, Virginia.
Dan worked for MEASUREX CORP in Glens Falls, NY. The company became HONEYWELL/MEASUREX and he travelled all over the country as a senior project engineer in industrial processes, especially paper mills. Locally, he worked at IP HAMMERMILL. His final employer was COGNEX CORP which was based out of California. They even sent him to Mexico on one occasion and he spoke no Spanish.
Big Dan met and married Elizabeth Ann Johnson on Sept. 24, 1982. They have 2 children: Daniel J (Crystal Lynn Graber) and Susan Jean. Ashton Kane (7) and Zoey Jade (3) are Dan’s grandchildren. He and Beth celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary in 2015.
Dan was a big man who lived life large. He travelled to all 50 states ending with Hawaii for his 50th birthday. He loved Pink Floyd, The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, The Three Stooges, John Wayne, picking wild mushrooms, and wild blueberries and his favorite NFL Team was the Denver Broncos. Fishing and hunting were his passions. The Platte River, Wyoming, the Lehigh River and Ole Bull State Park were favorite spots to find fish. He cooked great food, was a great host and enjoyed his friends and family immensely. He died in grace thinking of others as he always did. Lived in grace, died in grace.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, May 15, 2016 at 11 A.M. at the Donald G. Walker Funeral Home, Inc., 231 High St., Flemington. Military Honors will follow.
Friends and family will be received at the funeral home on Sunday from 10 A.M. until the time of the service.
Online condolences may be given by visiting www.donaldwalkerfuneralhome.com
