Born November 3, 1941 in St. Charles, Missouri, Dan Ohlms died on January 7, 2023 in Charlottesville, Virginia with his wife
Glenna by his side and son Peter close by. At age 81,Alzheimer’s disease took Dan from us too soon, but gentle care at Martha
Jefferson House teamed with hospice services helped the family through the process.
Dan was the first ofAgatha and Ernst Ohlms’s five children. Dick and Liz preceded him in death. Thanks to Mary and Nick for
hosting Dan, Glenna, and Peter on their last visit to St. Charles in spring 2021. Thanks to Mike and Mary Beth for driving
halfway across the country every summer for Nags Head beach weeks throughout Peter’s childhood.
“Danny” was a smart kid and received a scholarship to attend St. Louis University High School, a feeder school that put him on a
path to earn an undergraduate degree from Saint Louis University in 1963. He completed a doctorate in nuclear physics at Purdue
in 1969.
Dan’s working life began as a paperboy for the St. Charles Cosmos-Monitor in elementary school, followed by a high-school and
college job loading cement trucks. Grad school brought a pivot to teaching assistantships and a 41-year career of computer
programming, software development, system testing, and design for a division of IBM that eventually became Lockheed Martin.
Aformer colleague, Jon Wist, said Dan worked “primarily in the field of underwater acoustics. He was an expert in signal
processing, Kalman filters, and localization algorithms, and he applied these skills to internal research and to complex U.S. Navy
programs. He had a keen, dry sense of humor and was a patient mentor to younger employees."After retirement, Glenna
recruited him for his most challenging assignment: teaching English to speakers of other languages through Manassas Baptist
Church. He never thought he was good at it, but his students somehow wound up both well-prepared for the next level and
enamored of “Mr. Dan.”
Early in his career, Dan’s love of learning led him to take a sign-language class, where he met Glenna. Throughout their 46-year
marriage, they enjoyed dinners with friends, musical/cultural events, and traveling. In retirement, they especially enjoyed two
annual traditions: spending January on Sanibel Island, Florida, and walking through the bluebells in April. He enjoyed reading,
biking, being with family, and playing games with grandchildren Luna and Micah (and granddog Cuddles).
In March 2022, Dan and Glenna moved to Martha Jefferson House, where they enjoyed many bomb pops on the patio, met a new
group of friends, and received support and care. Dan’s personality and laugh, as well as his love for his family, will live on as we
share stories and memories of so many happy times together. He leaves a legacy of love for Glenna; Peter (Amanda), Luna,
Micah; Mary Kay Gregory (Nick); Mike (Mary Beth); and nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews Rich (Joanie),
Drew, Gabriella; Mark, Zachary, Cale; Jeff, Summer, Saylor, Chandler, Piper; Andy (Kelly); Kelley Holterman, Lydia; Christine
Wallace (Ernie), Cameron, Clayton, Rebecca, Rachel; Ken Gregory (Dawn),Andrew, Kathryn; Kevin Gregory (Louisa);
Michelle Camac (Aaron), Norah, Nicholas; and Stefanie Mittelbuscher, Nina, Ava, Kali.
Acelebration of life will be held at University Baptist Church in Charlottesville on Saturday, January 14 at 1 p.m. In lieu of
flowers, the family suggests sharing your wealth with a charitable organization of your choice or supporting the Daniel Ohlms
Undergraduate Scholarship in Physics at St. Louis University: https://giving.slu.edu/Ohlms.
Hill & Wood Funeral Service