Daniel Hugo Eis, after living a very full life for 91 years, died Friday evening, January 22, 2021 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Daniel was born on April 21, 1929 in Two Rivers to the late Oscar and Evelyn (Hoffman) Eis. Dan grew up on the family farm and attended Crystal Springs Grade School but dropped out in the 8 ^th grade due to a poor fit between his inquiring free spirit and the local parochial school's classroom rules. Despite his lack of formal education (with the exception of earning his GED years later), Dan was a lifelong learner and his college-educated friends nicknamed him the armchair philosopher (others knew him as Dynamite Dan). Dan served his country at the close of World War II in the Army Corps of Engineers and was stationed at Fort Worden, Washington.

Dan was a dedicated family man of high integrity. He married Carol Demler in 1955 and did an amazing job raising four children, single-handedly during their teenage years. Numerous stories were passed along about his older family members, including several about the well-kept secret of the family's moonshine years and early days of Eis deer camp in Forest County. He also enjoyed taking care of his dad in his final years. Despite his wild streak, Dan was kind and generous with his time, always willing to help out his kids and grandkids with various home, moving, and school projects. His sense of humor was limitless, a gift he passed along in spades to his eldest son.

Dan was a prankster with a need for speed. He regaled his grandkids with stories about his numerous dare devil feats, such as setting off sticks of his Dad's dynamite on Halloween at the beach (this skill came in handy later on when he was paid to blow things up, like boulders, and earned him his lifelong nickname, Dynamite Dan). He was known to do crazy stuff while riding his Harley and he drove stock cars starting in 1948. In Mishicot, he engineered and built the largest banked track in Wisconsin. Several minor and serious car accidents followed for Dan over the years and, given his many close brushes with death, he was said to have nine lives (which maybe explains Dan's affinity for cats, apparently his spirit animal). Upon hearing this his brother remarked "would you believe three times nine!" His grandson summed it up best, "If anyone could live half the life you have, well that would be a great one."

Dan's vocations over the years included cross country truck driving, carpenter/craftsman, engineering and house moving with his brother Marvin when they founded Eis Structure Movers, and later managed the Gas Hut up to his retirement. He pursued many interests over the years (see below), was civic-minded (a lifelong Democrat and consistent voter), and a peace activist.

Women. Dynamite Dan the ladies' man was a feminist who loved women for their beauty and their brains. His children heard countless stories from him that started with, "You know that girl I dated…" and, while he was known to tell a sexist joke or two (or more), he was a lifelong champion of women's rights. He belonged to the local NOW chapter and proudly marched in the 1980 Mother's Day March for ERA in Chicago and the 1989 March for Women's Lives in Washington DC.

Religion (none). Despite his Catholic upbringing, he was a lifelong atheist, having reasoned out his philosophy on god and religion at the age of 18 (ironically, he would later become a close friend of Sister Thomas More, of Silver Lake College). From his dad and through his genealogy research, he learned he had freethinking ancestors on both sides of his family. Dan was actively involved in American Atheists, American Humanist Association, and he was proud to be one of first to donate to Anne Gaylor's Freedom From Religion Foundation. He also founded and ran his own local group, Freethought Forum, that hosted a variety of speakers.

History. In his historical research, Dan learned that Turner Halls (Turnverein) were once present throughout Wisconsin, including in Manitowoc County, and he was happy to help lobby for the preservation of Turner Hall in Milwaukee. He absolutely loved museums and he and his family spent countless hours touring through the wonderful museums in Chicago and Washington DC. He worked at the Rahr-West Art Museum in his younger years and served as a docent in his later years at the Historic Farm Museum in Two Rivers. He was a lifelong member of the Manitowoc County Historical Society.

Genealogy. Dan's passion for history and family inspired his lifelong pursuit of genealogy research on the Eis and Hoffman families. He discovered (pre-internet!) that his German-Bohemian Eis ancestors came from Czech villages west of Prague and he had the opportunity to visit there in person (including seeing his Eis, Hess, and Huettl ancestors' graves) when he toured through Europe. He very much enjoyed exchanging information and insights with his cousins, Jeanette (Hoffman) VanCamp and Bob Palzer. With an incredible memory of people, dates, and places, Dan's mind was a gold mine of information when working with his children on the family moonshine research project.

Science and Philosophy. Science fascinated him from an early age (thanks to his mom for expanding his world with a subscription to Life magazine) and he loved learning about the work of Einstein, Sagan, and many other scientists. NASA's Apollo moon missions converted him into a lifelong space enthusiast. He was a collector of books on history and philosophy (such as the works of Ingersoll and Russell).

UFOs. Dan was an avid UFO researcher since the day he sighted something on the neighbor's farm on his 17 ^th birthday, Easter Sunday, April 21, 1946. While there is no way to prove if Dan saw an extraterrestrial craft that day, whatever it was, he says it was the most profound experience he's ever had in his 91 years. He had the opportunity to meet with J. Allen Hynek and his many years of research included visits to Washington DC (to access Project Blue Book and other files) and Roswell NM.

Other hobbies. He loved to travel and spent time in Florida and on both coasts visiting with family and/or friends. Dan enjoyed a wide range of music. He was a big fan of Buddy Holly (he named his daughter Peggy Sue), bluegrass and country (he took his family to see the man in black, Johnny Cash, at the Wisconsin State Fair), and classical music (after his introduction to it when he saw 2001: A Space Odyssey). Dan loved the beauty of nature and hiked and camped in many places over the years.

Social butterfly. If you knew Dan, you know that he loved to talk with people. Friends and family spent countless hours on the phone with him or sitting in diners for marathon breakfasts, lunches, or suppers. He thoroughly enjoyed the summer season of county fairs, music festivals, and fireman's picnics (especially the Town of Two Rivers in Shoto, of which his brother was a founding member) where he could flirt with the ladies and dance.

People were drawn to Dan's open-minded and positive attitude. Bukowski aptly described why, "the free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it - basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them." Dan was the epitome of a free soul. In the words of fellow freethinker Frank, Dan was proud to say "I did it my way." In his own words that were his lifelong philosophy, "If it's gonna be a problem, I'm outta here," and so he is.

Daniel is survived by his three children Cynthia (Terry) Krueger, David (Debra) Eis, Peggy Eis (Jeffrey Lee), daughter-in-law Mary Jo Eis, eleven grandchildren (Michael, Brian, Christopher, Tyler, Nicholas, Angela, Jacob, Kerri, Alexander, Ian, Anna), eight great grandchildren, and his sister JoAnn Weyenberg. He is further survived by several relatives and close friends whom he enjoyed spending time with over the years. He was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings Lorraine and Marvin, his son William, and his grandson Matthew.

Daniel's ashes were laid to rest with military honors at Evergreen Cemetery in Manitowoc and a celebration of his life was held at the Two Rivers Historical Society's Washington House on August 28th, 2021.