Dan Paynich

It is with great regret and sorrow in our hearts that the family of Dan Paynich is announcing the death of our husband, father and grandfather. Dan was surrounded by family when he passed due to complications sustained from an altercation with a 4-point buck. Dan loved to hunt and be in the outdoors. He was happiest in the fall “during the rut” and could often be heard telling hunting stories for long, long periods of time. Dan was also a well-known accordion player and people from across Montana remember and remark on his accordion-playing abilities which were heard over the past 80 years. Born in Butte, Dan’s heart never left the dusty streets of “The Richest Hill On Earth” and Venus Alley and although he lived in Great Falls he could still be found in Butte at least four times a month. Dan attended MSU for about 11 years “just for the fun of it” going to classes between hunting trips and accordion gigs at the Vets and Elks Clubs (if at all) and working with his brother at Hartman-Mockel men’s store. He was not in any hurry to graduate from college but he learned to love the art of photography and if anyone stood still long enough in his presence they were bound to end up on camera one way or another. Many across the State will remember Dan as a salesman from the Yellow Pages, where he worked for 37 years traveling to every town across the State and gracing the shadow of almost every commercial vestibule on every Main street. Known for being “a man of the people” Dan was always looking to put some humor into the mundane including the time he published an ad for the Missoula Zoo, where a business owners “not so pleasant” Doberman Pincer guard dog was reclassified as an elephant. US West was not pleased, but the business owner sure got a kick out of the stunt! Dan is survived by his loving wife of over 50 years and two sons. As a family they hunted together and traveled far and wide, including to Alaska 13 times, across the US to Washington DC, and took an untold number of trips to Seattle and Calgary for Chinese food. Dan was a brother to three, a loving son to his mining era parents, and a honest friend to any stranger that needed a hand. We can say there will never be another one like him and Montana has lost one of it’s finest ambassadors: He will be dearly missed. You can honor Dan by donating to the Lady of the Rockies in Butte or attending the annual SNPJ Polka Fest.

Tributes

Dan Paynich

November 10, 2019