Daniel S. Kekacs, age 88, of Stratford, beloved husband of the late Claudia "Jan" Kekacs, passed away on October 21, 2024. Dan was born in Bridgeport on December 26, 1935, to the late Andrew and Mary (Buypal) Kekacs and had been a lifelong area resident.

He was born into a simpler world, a place of unshakeable certainty in God, country and family. He was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War. An exceptional toolmaker, he worked at many local tool shops before retiring from General Electric. His meticulous nature carried over to a lifelong interest in shooting sports, where he was an accomplished skeet shooter and rifleman who built many of his own guns. In the 1960s, he was co-owner of the Buckhorn Gun Shop in Stratford. Dan's love of country knew no bounds. During the Vietnam War, a soldier came into the shop to buy a sidearm before being sent to Southeast Asia. The soldier also asked for a holster, but there was none in stock. Dan removed his own and handed it to the serviceman, asking only that he return it at the end of his tour of duty. The soldier did not return home alive.

Dan's survivors include his devoted children, Andrew Kekacs (Libby Dean) of Nova Scotia, Susan Tall (Tom) of Shelton, and Donna DeRubis of Stratford, 11 grandchildren, Caitlin, Daniel, Matthew, Bryan, Amy, Christopher, Vienna, Madison, Lori, Mary, and Steven, 11 great-grandchildren, a brother, Joseph Kekacs, and several nieces and nephews. In addition to his beloved wife and parents, Dan was pre-deceased by his brothers, Andrew and David Kekacs, and sisters, Rosalie Kekacs, Barbara Payne and Maryann Kekacs.

Visitation will be at the Adzima Funeral Home, 50 Paradise Green Place, Stratford, on Monday, October 28, 2024, from 9:30 am -10:30 am, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. James Church, Stratford at 11:00 am.