Daniel J. Panek Jr.

Daniel J. Panek, Jr., 82, passed away peacefully on October 20, 2019, at his home in Hartsgrove, Ohio, where he lived with his family for over fifty years. Daniel was born on September 5, 1937, and was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where he graduated from St. Stanislaus High School (now Cleveland Central Catholic). He attended Ohio University and John Carrol University, served two years with the Ohio Army National Guard, and four years with the United States Army Reserve as Sergeant First Class. Daniel married Kathleen (Koenig) Panek in 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio. “Dan and Kay” celebrated their Golden wedding anniversary in 2016. Daniel enjoyed fishing, goose hunting, and duck hunting throughout Northeast Ohio. He was an avid reader, crossword puzzle aficionado and spud gun designer. He helped build or wire dozens of homes, could diagnose and fix just about anything mechanical, and was always at the ready with political punditry, corny jokes and sage advice. Daniel’s quick wit and impressive work ethic were surpassed only by his tremendous integrity and dedication to his family. Daniel’s remarkable career spanned four decades in progressively varied roles in aerospace engineering and manufacturing technology with some of the nation’s most prominent defense contractors and aviation research centers. His career began in 1956 at General Electric as a Metallurgical Lab Technician. He subsequently worked at Cleveland Pneumatic Industries as an Engineering Technician, with Ohio’s 137th Field Artillery as a Nike Ajax Launcher Crewman, at General Dynamics as a Missile Field Test Mechanic, at NASA Lewis Research Center as a Rocket Lab Crew Leader, at TRW as an Aircraft Lab Technician, and at Alloy Bellows as a Foreman. He spent 27 years with Transdigm and its predecessor companies IMO Industries, Aero Products, Controlex Corporation, and DeLaval Turbine. Daniel retired in 1999 as the company’s Aerospace Plant Engineer. Daniel is survived by his beloved wife Kathleen, children Jennifer Skowronski of Willoughby, Ohio, Jackie Brown (Scott Brown) of Chardon, Ohio, Cherie Panek (Matthew Hartman) of Portland, Oregon, and Roger Clark (Sarah Derico) of Bergen County, New Jersey, grandchildren Ryan, Mackenzie, Kaitlyn, Ava,  and Savina, sister Louise Miller (John Miller, deceased), brother Michael Panek. Daniel was preceded in death by his father Daniel J. Panek, Sr. and mother Genevieve (Salata) Panek. A funeral service will be held for family, friends, and neighbors at Paine Funeral Home, Inc., 140 E. Main Street, Orwell, Ohio 44076 on Saturday, October 26, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. with a luncheon to follow. Visitation will be held prior to service from 10:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.  Visitors are invited to wear their favorite flannel, sweatshirt, or baseball cap in Daniel’s honor. If preferred, in lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to The Grand Valley Public Library at 1 North School Street, PO Box 188, Orwell, Ohio 44076.  

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