Obituary
Daniel Martin Cayelli, 83, of Potomac, Maryland, and more recently The Villages, Florida, passed away peacefully on September 11, 2023.
Born on May 26, 1940, in Masontown, Pennsylvania, Dan spent the majority of his life in the Washington D.C. area. He graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland and attended the University of Maryland, where he met his wife Sharon at a sorority dessert. Dan wed Sharon in 1965 and they enjoyed 58 years of marriage together.
Dan ended his university studies early to begin his career, and at the same time enrolled in the National Guard. As a point of pride, Dan later returned to the University of Maryland to earn the remaining credits needed for his bachelor’s degree, thirty-four years after he first enrolled.
In his professional life, Dan worked in mortgage banking, rising from bank teller to executive at Weaver Brothers Mortgage Bank. He continued his career at Riggs Bank and later was part of the leadership team at Bogman Inc.
In retirement, Dan loved to travel and, together with Sharon, visited over thirty different countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Borneo, Myanmar, Egypt, Israel, India, New Zealand and Brazil. He enjoyed sharing travel tips with friends and family, and always created a keepsake photo album after each adventure. As a hobby, Dan took up genealogy research, and completed an extensive mapping of the Cayelli family tree.
Dan also enjoyed music and would regularly seek out live performances across a wide range of styles, including folk, bluegrass, and rock. In 1977, he purchased a vintage Seeburg jukebox so he could enjoy music in his finished basement, and loved it so much that he eventually moved it to his new home in Florida.
To relax, Dan took pleasure playing golf with friends and family, often joking that the grounds crew had their work cut out for them after each round he played. He also liked to ride his bike, and even took a spin down the street on his 80th birthday.
Dan was a loving husband to Sharon and a devoted father to their two children, Elise (“Lisa”) and Don. He was also a proud grandfather, giving his grandchildren both love and advice, and was determined to attend each of their high school graduations, which he did. His family, along with many others whose lives he touched, will fondly remember his humor, steadiness and frank advice. Dan was a light in so many lives, and he will be truly missed.
Dan is predeceased by his mother Nell Micozzi-Rye Cayelli and father Ferdinand Cayelli, and is survived by his wife Sharon, brother James (Barbara) Cayelli, daughter Elise (Rick) Wetzel, son Don (Elsa) Cayelli, grandchildren Madison Wetzel (24), Jack Wetzel (23), Daniel Cayelli (23), and Emilia Cayelli (20), nephews Steven Cayelli and Michael Cayelli, and niece Rachel Dash.
The family is planning to lay Dan’s ashes to rest this Spring in a private service at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Rockville, Maryland. His family asks that you raise a glass of white wine and eat a slice of key lime pie in his memory. And, if you are so moved, please make a donation to the University of Maryland “Clark Challenge” Scholarship Fund in his memory. https://giving.umd.edu/giving/Fund.php?name=clark-challenge-for-the-maryland-promise. Arrangements entrusted with BALDWIN BROTHERS Funeral & Cremation Society-Spanish Springs, 352-430-1449. Sentiments are encouraged at www.baldwincremation.com.
John and Donna Koziol
John and Donna Koziol