As his sister Sylvia “SJP” Powell describes perfectly he was a man of few words, but we all knew.

The quiet but confident Dan Powell of Spring Valley lived of life of riches, that solely came from his children, his family, his friends and his deep affinity for snacks. Dan passed away on May 6, 2023, at the age of 62 and is survived by his children – Stephanie Alexis (35), Ashley Leveille (29), Aisha Powell (27), Nathan Powell (22)— his mother Gladys Powell (84), his siblings —Sylvia Powell (65), Goluia Powell-Taylor (64) and Robert Powell (60)— his granddaughters Madison Leveille (11) and Sahara Nichols (10), and his brother-in-law Stephen Taylor (66). He was predeceased by his father Matthew Powell, brother Matthew “Melvin” Powell and his brother-in-law Jerome Ramsey.

Dan Powell was born on Augusts 12, 1960, in Drewryville Virginia to Gladys Stephens and Mathew Powell. His family moved to New York in 1962 when his mother was pregnant with his younger brother. As a young boy, Dan loved playing sports, as his father taught him how to play baseball and was instrumental in him getting into the Little League. He also played tennis, including table tennis, with his sister Goluia. Dan was competitive, often competing with his siblings on who was better in basketball and baseball. Dan was intelligent and excelled in school, particularly math, which he later went on to teach his kids. Dan attended the University of Texas for engineering but returned back after finishing 40 credits.

To know Dan was to know that he was a workaholic. He worked several jobs over the course of his life including being a maintenance worker at St. Dominic, the Lead Maintenance Mechanic at Ramapo Manor Center for Rehab & Nursing, working 14 years at the pharmaceutical company Wyeth turned Pfizer, and most recently being plant operator at Veolia. Dan was diligent, hardworking, and well-liked by his coworkers because of his laid-back style and pleasant demeanor.

Dan was also known as the Spring Valley handyman. Dan knew how to fix just about anything including furnaces, refrigerators, water boilers, air conditioners, HVAC, tiles, water pipes, plumping, if you can name it, you could fix it. But if you ask his niece Rebekah, it may have been a temporary fix.

Dan was a true New York sports lover, he enjoyed the Yankees, the Knicks, the Giants and even the Rangers. But he truly enjoyed watching his children play sports — including Stephanie playing soccer and track; Aisha playing track, soccer and tennis; and Nathan playing basketball — but extended even more as his granddaughter Madison played basketball. Not to mention, Dan became an ardent Penn State fan after his daughter Aisha graduated from the school.

Dan was known as a stand-up guy. He was a father figure to so many in his family including Angela Ramsey (46), Katrina Clay (44), Rebekah Ramsey (19) and Madison. There are so many women in the Powell family that Dan has played “father” to or was instrumental in helping them. He walked his niece Katrina down the aisle during her marriage and was slated to walk Angela down the aisle as well. In addition, Dan was the favorite uncle to many nephews and his nieces including Jasmine Clay (20), Nia Clay (15), Anissa Clay (10) and Savannah Kenner (11).

Dan was the patriarch of his family, and it made sense because he was besties with the matriarch — his mother Gladys Powell. He did not miss a morning of calling her at 8:00 am to talk about the day, the weather, his children, or anything. For a long time, if you entered the home on 3 Long Ridge Court, you could see Dan and Gladys sitting on the couch together eating chips and watching Judge Judy.

The loss of Dan is not just a loss for his family, but the Rockland County community as a whole. Dan could not go anywhere without people coming up to embrace him or share how he helped them in some way. God received one of his best angels back with Dan.

A funeral service was scheduled for 11 am on May 12, 2023, at First Baptist Church on 6 Hoyt Street in Spring Valley, New York.