Dan Nicewander

Dan Leon Nicewander was born on June 22, 1941 in Bartlesville Oklahoma to Dorothy Margaret Kloss and Daniel Andrew Nicewander. Dan was first in his class throughout his life from first grade on, graduating Valedictorian in 1959 from Denver City High School and was granted the Denver City High School Rotary Club Scholarship. Dan played baseball and basketball He had a love of learning and history and went to the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1963 with a BA in History, Summa Cum Laude. Dan received the highest academic honor of Phi Beta Kappa and the national history honor of Phi Alpha Theta, while receiving the highest honor of Delta Phi Alpha for his German language studies.

After graduating from The University of Texas, Dan was granted the Thomas G. Shearman National Scholarship for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the United States to Columbia Law School, where he graduated in 1966 LLB. He met Andrea Ruth Elkenbaum at a party at Columbia Crown Room, when she chose to talk to Dan, the tallest man in the room. After graduating, they married in 1967 and moved back to Texas. He was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1966 and in 1967 joined the law firm of Gardere, Porter & Dehay. In 1970 he spent two years in Woodville Texas as a lawyer for Wheat, Wheat & Stafford, returning to Dallas in 1972, where Dan spent 42 years as a partner with Gardere, Wynne & Sewell Dallas, retiring in 2009. During his career he was the President of the Texas Association of Bank Counsel, and the Chairman of the Texas State Bar Business Law Section.

Dan was the President of the Community Council of Greater Dallas, and the Visiting Committee of the University of Texas History Department. He was active on the University of Texas Athletic Council and a proud season ticket holder for Texas Longhorn football team.

Dan was a scholar throughout his life with an interest in many things. He was a dedicated reader with thousands of books in his library. He researched his family genealogy and spent many vacations collecting family history for his articles on the Kloss and Flesher families. He spoke German fluently and loved to engage with all his cousins across Germany. He had a quick wit and a warm smile, along with a joke or story for any situation. Dan was also an avid collector – cooking and cookbooks were a passion along with the Sand Hill Cranes, which he visited across the country. He loved the outdoors, fly-fishing, gardening, traveling, watching sports, talking politics and engaging with his grandchildren.

As his good friend Paul Dean shared in a thank you letter Dan kept at his desk “Dan will always stand tall in the saddle.”

Dan is survived by his wife of 52 years, Andrea Ruth Elkenbaum. Along with two daughters, Mary Elizabeth Winfield and her husband Brent and Patricia Anne Nicewander and her husband Nanak Rai; two grandchildren, Julia Catherine Kaur Rai and Morgan Daniel Winfield, and his brother Merrit Henry Nicewander and sister Janie Elaine Dale.

The family will receive friends for an Afternoon of Remembrance, Saturday, December 28, 2019 from 2:00-4:00 P.M. at Allen Family Funeral Options.

If desired, contributions may be made in Dan’s name to the Cancer Research Institute, 29 Broadway, Floor 4, New York, NY 10006-3111 or https://www.cancerresearch.org/donate.