Daniel Molyneaux

Daniel (Dan) Anthony Molyneaux died peacefully with his family at his side at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House on June 7, 2021 after a brief illness.

Family can be greeted Thursday June 10th at the Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home, 614 Main Street, Davenport from 4:00-7:00 PM with a rosary at 6:30 PM and reflections following. The Mass of Christian Burial and celebration of Dan’s life will be Friday, June 11 at 10:30 AM at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 916 E. Rusholme Street, Davenport. The Mass will be livestreamed by visiting https://www.facebook.com/stpauldisciples There will be an additional visitation at 9:30 AM before the service.  The body has been donated to the Mayo Clinic for medical research.

Dan was born September 9, 1933 and graduated high school from St. Ambrose Academy and then attended Iowa State University where he was a member of the Gamma Upsilon chapter of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity and graduated with a B.S. in Industrial Economics.  Later in life he was awarded an honorary degree from St. Ambrose College (now University).

Dan married the love of his life, Katie Spaeth on August 6, 1955. Their marriage of 59 years blessed them with six children, 15 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Dan lived a wonderful life full of accomplishments and generosity to others. He was an outstanding golfer and a four-year member of the Iowa State golf team, winning the Bix Six Individual Championship in 1953 as a sophomore and had many other successes on the links.

After graduating from Iowa State and his wedding to Katie, Dan served two years in the U.S. Army at Ft. Lee, Virginia. Dan and Katie moved back to Davenport in 1957 where Dan joined his father at Molyneaux Insurance.

When Dan joined the agency in 1957 it had a total of five commercial clients. Three of them are no longer in business, but, as a testament to his professionalism and skill, the other two are still customers to this day. Dan sold the agency to his son, daughter, Don Blough and Roger Schemmel, Jr. in 1995. He loved to tell anyone that would listen that his son and daughter were his bosses. He earned too many professional designations to reasonably fit on his business card so they are not repeated here.  Dan’s excellence in his field was recognized by his peers when he was admitted to the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame in 2017. Ever an enduring leader and caring steward of his family’s business, Dan continued to do what he loved, taking care of clients until only a month before his passing.

Dan was exceedingly generous and provided financial support to an incredible variety of charities, displaying particular magnanimity toward Catholic and educational organizations, those vital foundations of a good life. He also served on many charitable and educational boards, acting as a trustee of the former Marycrest College and serving Catholic education on a variety of school boards.  Dan was also a long time member of the committee that operated the Quad Cities Open, predecessor to the John Deere Classic.

His greatest joys in life were his wife, his children and their families, travel around the globe, taking care of his customers, time in Florida, Notre Dame football, good food, a well-made Martini, and great conversations. But the central facts of his life were his Catholic Faith, the Eucharist, and his daily prayer list which typically included over 100 petitions which he recited every day purely by memory.

His two favorite sayings were, “Every Day is a Good Day” and “God and Life are Good.” Dan was the consummate gentleman who truly lived for others. May he rest in the bosom of Abraham.

Dan is survived by his children and spouses; Lisa Hardy, Cathi (David) Brain, Marie Frandsen, Meg (Jeff) Courter, Anne (Pam Coon) Molyneaux and Dan (Jenny) Molyneaux. His grandchildren and their spouses; Allison Hardy, Megan (Mark) Henderson, Matt (Kate) Hardy, Ben (Jordan) Hardy, Andrew (Mary) Brain, Caroline, Charlie and Philip Brain, Nate (Jennifer) Frandsen, Andrew (Mica) Frandsen, Jack and Kate Courter, Peter, Ellie and John Molyneaux, and his 14 great-grandchildren plus one more on the way. Also a sister Jane (Peter) Cannon and sister-in-law, Helen Vanni.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Katie, his parents Daniel and Marie Molyneaux, his sister and brother-in-law Carole (Joe) Dillon, as well as 20 in-laws on his wife’s side.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Iowa State Foundation (Dan and Katie Molyneaux Golf Scholarship), Assumption High School (Katherine S. Molyneaux Memorial Scholarship) or the charity of your choice.

The family would like to thank the incredible staff at Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House who treated Dad with such loving care.