Daniel Larry Lovick took his last breaths on July 16, 2021, surrounded by loved ones. Born in California, Missouri, on October 18, 1950, to the late Helena and Lewis Lovick, Dan and his twin brother, Charles, were the youngest of five. As a child in Missouri and Arkansas, Dan showed his independence and love for animals from a young age, spending hours in the woods with just his dog, Rebel. And family trips to his Aunt’s ranch in Montana shaped his life-long love and fascination with the mountains and rugged landscape of the West. When Dan wasn’t exploring, he was reading anything and everything he could find - it’s hard to estimate the size of his beloved book and comic collection. He excelled at school, and after graduating from Batesville Senior High in Arkansas, he went on to study at the University of Arkansas. In 1971, Dan was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in the Vietnam War. Dan saw combat as an infantry man with the 101st Airborne. He was a proud Boonie Rat and earned the nickname "Ghost" for his uncanny ability to avoid harm. Dan later served as an MP during the war. Returning from war, Dan followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a Foreman on the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1975 he married Katherine Baker and together they bought his childhood home in Sandy Hook, Missouri, where they began raising their four children. As a father, he instilled a love of learning, a sense of humor, and independence. After suffering an injury in 1987, Dan went back to college to study history, took up photography, and even got his real estate license. However, he was a mountain man at heart, and in 1990 he moved his family to Sheridan, Wyoming, where he would live the rest of his days. Dan loved the seclusion of his property near the Big Horn Mountains, but he also enjoyed socializing at the local waterholes. Yet there was no escaping his family; his parents and twin sisters moved to Sheridan to be near him. He continued to be fiercely independent; dogs and cats were his favorite people. Still, he remained close to his family, helping to care for his aging parents at the end of their lives. We can’t help but smile, thinking of him smoking a Kool King cigarette, drinking some iced tea, yelling at the TV, and cheering for his favorite baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals. Dan is preceded in death by his parents Helena and Lewis, his siblings Charles, Lewis Jr., and Darleen. He is survived by his four children: Daniel (Beau), Charles (Eric), Kathryn (Katie), and Helena, his older sister Sharleen and his five grandchildren; Isabel, Emery, Michael, Lauren, and Lucas. All are welcome to attend a celebration of Dan’s life August 7, at 1 p.m. at the Hampton Inn, 980 Sibley Circle, Sheridan, WY. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you make adonation to the Dog and Cat Shelter of Sheridan. Online condolences may be written at www.championfh.com. 

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