Daniel “Dan” Lee Lohrey

Big Lake resident Daniel “Dan” Lee Lohrey, 54, died June 21, 2011, at his home.

Memorial services in honor of Dan are at 5 p.m., Sunday, June 26, at Hilltop Assembly of God church in Houston, with pastor Kevin Shumway officiating.

Dan worked as a self-employed remodel and construction contractor who moved from southeast Alaska to Anchorage in 1986, and then to the Mat-Su Valley in 1988. He loved the Lord, his family and friends, and enjoyed fishing and camping with them.

Dan was born Oct. 16, 1956, in California, the son of Avery Channing and Elsie Olive (McCandless) Lohrey.

His family will remember Dan as nothing less than an amazing man. They said that everyone who knew him thought highly of him and knew him as a genuine and honest man, a faithful husband, loving father, wonderful grandpa and committed friend. He was steadfast in his faith and always testified of God’s saving power and love in his life. He wanted everyone he knew to have the same relationship with Jesus that he had. John 3:16 was his favorite Bible verse.

It’s hard to put into words the amazing character he had, but put simply in the words of his wife: “He changed the world and he made it more beautiful. We will miss and love him greatly.”

Surviving are his wife, Janene of Big Lake; daughter and son-in-law, Tamira and Simon Johnson and granddaughter, Caroline, of Wasilla; daughter, Crystal Lohrey of Wasilla; stepdaughter and son-in-law, Sandy and Mark Oehmke and their children Nicol and Patrick Sumerlot, all of Grand Junction, Colo.; stepson and daughter-in-law, John and Lisa Kemper and their son Terry in Guam; stepson, Matt Cooper of Fallon, Nev.; and sisters, Beth Anne Schmidt of Sebastopal, Calif., Christine Smith of Sprinfield, Ore., Cynthia Hargreaves of Dayton, Va.; Marilyn Craske of Thorn Bay; and brother, Martin Lohrey of Raphine, Va.

Preceding him in death was his father, Avery Channing Lohrey.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dan Lohrey Memorial Fund, C/O Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union, account No. 123290.