Dan Surber

May 15, 2021

Posted

Dan Surber, 71, passed through death on May 15, 2021, during a church cleanup time with several members of the congregation in Jackson, Mississippi, that was his spiritual home for almost 30 years. Every Saturday for over 40 years Dan served his church community in some practical capacity; therefore, his departure from life while serving seemed fitting to those who loved Dan. He willed his body to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. A virtual memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. EST June 19. Visit RememberingDanSurber.com for connection information and to offer condolences.

Dan was born in Central Indiana and raised on a dairy farm. He was adept at handling farm animals, trucks, tools, tractors and tractor-hauled equipment. He attended Roachdale High School, where he sang in the choir, played saxophone in the orchestra and was the marching band drum-major for two years. Concurrently Dan had his own motorcycle, took flying lessons (soloed a Cessna 150) and learned to type 40+ wpm.

After high school graduation in 1968, Dan enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Dan’s typing skill kept him at Camp Pendleton, California, as a “Remington Raider” for all three years of his service. During this time, a Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant and his family, who particularly loved God, took Dan under their wing. As Dan was finishing his military tour of duty, the family graciously invited Dan to move with them back to their hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, while the GySgt did a tour in Vietnam, and helped Dan to get his civilian life up and running. Dan lived in Memphis for three years.

Dan moved to Austin, Texas in 1974, which he always considered a continuation of God’s kindness and plan for his life. While working as a mailroom clerk he was invited into the realm of computers, and went on to earn a B.B.A. in Computer Information Systems from Texas State University in San Marcos in 1981. Dan spent four decades in the field of Information Technology for multiple organizations as a programmer, consultant and manager.

Dan married Theresa Galvan in 1977 and was blessed with four children, whom he considered “the icing on the cake.” Among the jobs Dan had in Austin, he spent eight years as a programmer for Lockheed Missiles and Space (LM&S). When LM&S shut down their Austin office, Dan went on the road as a contract programmer, eventually ending up in Jackson, Mississippi with his family in 1994.

In Jackson, Dan spent eight years at WorldCom as a Senior Applications Analyst. He then worked 14 years for Southern Research Group, where he was the IT Manager and went by “Doc” (a play on his first and middle initials DR and a reference to his trouble-shooting skills). He was active at Spann Elementary School as a guest reader and Junior Achievement instructor. For several years he dressed as George Washington in the Briarwood Neighborhood Association July 4th parade. As a member of the Millsaps College Parents Council, he endeared himself to anxious parents of incoming freshmen with the question, “Tell me, how is it that your child chose Millsaps?”

In 2009 Dan suffered a mild heart attack and a few days later, during a routine check-up, experienced a mild stroke. He returned to work a month later, though mostly on a half-time basis, until his retirement in 2017. In retirement, Dan devoted himself to the study of the Bible and prayer, both in his private time and with small groups.

Dan is survived by his bride of 43 years Theresa, of whom he delighted in saying, “Can you believe it, she still loves me!”; daughters, Gloria Morgan (Aaron) of Round Rock, Texas and Eva of San Jose, California; sons, Mark of Irvine, California and Kirk of Norman, Oklahoma; brothers, David (Melanie) of Nashville, Tennessee and Tim (Terri) of Crawfordsville; Janis Fletcher (David) and Julie Dickman also of Crawfordsville; three grandsons; 21 nieces and nephews; his wife’s five siblings; numerous cousins; and a host of brothers and sisters in Christ.

His parents, Vic and Georgia Surber of Roachdale and his brother-in-law, Don Dickman of Crawfordville, predeceased him.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Church in Jackson (P.O. Box 14025; Jackson MS 39236), Millsaps College (1701 N. State St.; Jackson, MS 39210 or MBench.org/Give), Paralyzed Veterans of America (pva.org) or SmileTrain (smiletrain.org).


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