Daniel Kanan, a passionate family man and real estate expert who played vigorous beach volleyball at Will Rogers until his final year, died on December 13 following a courageous battle with lymphoma. He was 69. Born on October 8, 1937 in Pasadena, Dan was the third son of Marie and Albert Kanan, who also had two daughters. His parents had been born in Syria and, after marrying in 1930, had traveled by ship from Beirut to Ellis Island, a journey lasting 35 days. Looking for greater opportunities and warmer weather, they decided to move to Los Angeles three years later, where Albert started a linen, lingerie and baby clothes store on Colorado Boulevard. Shortly after Dan’s birth, the family moved to Santa Monica, where the ocean and the beach became a haven for the five Kanan siblings, as well as their future offspring. In 1945, the family moved to Pacific Palisades for about four years and then back to Santa Monica, where Dan attended local schools. He graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1955, then attended classes at Santa Monica City College before transferring to UCLA, where he earned a business degree in real estate in 1959. One of Dan’s first jobs was working at McCarthy’s Drugs on Montana. While making deliveries to another local McCarthy’s Drugs on Lincoln and Ocean Park, Dan often spotted a young beauty, Cheryel Greaney, and finally asked her out in 1958. They married in September 1960 and ultimately built and settled down into their modern, electric ‘dream house’ in the Palisades in 1963. Here they raised their five children: Dan, Debbie, Jim, Nikki, and Tami. Dan’s life-long passion was real estate. He began his career at the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office in 1960 and retired in the late 1970s as a senior appraiser. During the mid-1960s, Dan also obtained his real estate broker’s license. He worked in the real estate department at Litton Industries for about a year, then left to join his brother Ed in his company. Dan remained at Kanan Bros. until the 1990s when he started his own company, Kanan Associates (Cheryel being the ‘associates’), where he focused on real estate brokerage and appraisals. His favorite past-time with his family, or alone, was to drive the Westside looking at property. He also dropped in to see his mother every day, leaving her notes that the family later found under the kitchen tablecovering. Dan had many passions in life, most of them involving sports. He was an avid beach and court volleyball player and loved basketball. For most of his life, he ran daily on the beach and always took a short ‘dip’ in the ocean–regardless of the season or weather! He was a tremendous handball player and most recently an advocate for trying to keep this dying sport alive in younger generations. In doing so, Dan solicited a grant and then established and coached a youth handball program at the Santa Monica YMCA. A ‘people person,’ Dan was extremely involved in community and charitable organizations, including Boy Scout Troop 400, the Civic League, the Optimist Club, and the YMCA Indian Guide and Princess programs in Pacific Palisades. His Santa Monica commitments included the Boys Club Council (charter member), Jaycees (president), Rotary, the YMCA board of directors, and the Board of Realtors (president). His kindness and goodness were extended to many through these various groups. Additionally, through the years he coached youth sports, chauffeured for field trips, and babysat grandchildren. He also supported Cheryel (business manager of the Palisadian-Post) in all of her many philanthropic organizations. Dan spread wisdom, friendship and a huge smile to everyone he met. He considered everyone a part of his extended family, and was an unofficial ‘adopted’ Dad to all his children’s friends. He was a mentor and hero in the eyes of most who were fortunate to have come in contact with this amazing, gentle, fun-loving man. As one of the many condolence callers stated, ‘If we all had a little Dan in us, we’d all be better people.’ In April 2000, Dan, Cheryel, Debbie and Nikki visited Syria for the first time. The word got out that they were coming, and when they arrived at their hotel in the small town that Dan’s mother had come from, they were greeted by dozens of family members they’d never known. With no common language, they still had a great time, proving once more that Dan couldn’t go anywhere without running into someone he knew or would soon turn into a friend. Last December, Dan learned that he had a form of lymphoma. He had always told Cheryel that if he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he expected to just walk into the ocean and never look back. But once it happened, he said something different: ‘I want to live for my children and grandchildren.’ Indeed, he made the most of his time, bringing the family closer together and being a loving ‘Jidu’ (Arabic for Grandpa) for his grandchildren for as long as he could. Dan was preceded in death by his beloved parents and his two brothers, Gilbert and Edmund. He is survived by his loving wife and life-partner, Cheryel; his five children Dan (wife Bianca), Debbie, Jim (wife Christine), Nikki, and Tami (husband John); his seven grandchildren Jake, Daniel, Kobe, Malia, Kaia, Alani, and Emma; his sisters Nadia (husband Camille) and Amira (husband Hans); his sister-in-law Sharon; his nephews and niece Mitch (Olivia), Eddie (Stephanie), Kevin, Gregg (Shelly) and Kristen; and his great-nephews and nieces Josh, Nikolas, Sarah, Sophia, Samuel and Gilbert. Dan also leaves behind his dearly loved, four-legged pals Magua and Bruno. His life was celebrated by 600 of his friends and family members on Tuesday at the Palisades Lutheran Church. A reception followed at the Bel-Air Bay Club. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in Dan’s memory to the Santa Monica YMCA, 1332 Sixth St., Santa Monica, CA 90401. These donations will be earmarked for the Childcare Development Program, which Dan proudly helped bring to fruition. The family would also like to thank Dr. Richard Kennedy, as well as the amazing doctors and staff at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute in Santa Monica for their care.
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