Dan Jones Daugherty, 87, lifelong horseman, and proud red-headed Irishman of Arnegard, North Dakota, passed away peacefully on November 30, 2025, at McKenzie County Hospital, surrounded by his loving family.

Dan was born July 14, 1938, to William Ellis and Katherine Elizabeth (Jones) Daugherty in Merino CO at home on the family homestead where he grew up with his older siblings Margaret, Zella, and William (Bill). He graduated from Merino High School in 1957, where he played basketball and football, was an active member of FFA. On August 13, 1957, he married his high school sweetheart, Velma Mae Wilkinson. For the next 63 years they were inseparable, raising a family and making a home wherever the gas-plant job took them — Colorado, Wyoming, and finally, in 1973, Arnegard, North Dakota, where Dan worked 40 proud years as a gas plant operator for True Oil. If his grandkids or kids ever pulled into the yard, you were greeted by Dan’s trademark squeaky smooch.

Dan was avid in horsemanship, traded a little stock when the mood struck, grilling chicken every Sunday, tending his garden, watching a good rodeo and never missed a chance to travel on his days off. His life was full through the decades of family adventures: many trips to Yellowstone National Park trips, countless journeys to Colorado and Missouri chasing family building memories, and unforgettable horseback trips into the Big Horn Mountain Range where the trout were never safe and the elk hunting with family and friends created lifelong memories.

Wherever Dan went, the radio dial was locked on Rush Limbaugh or Paul Harvey, voices that were steady in his daily life. Evenings found him glued to Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Dodgers games on TV or radio, or watching a good bronc ride with the Etbauer and Wright boys, or rodeos and Professional bull riding on the Cowboy Channel. Nothing, beat settling in with a big ol’ bowl of popcorn to watch the Grand Ole Opry. Dan was always happy to be offered a cold red beer, a warm Busch lite or a tall glass of sweet tea. Dan’s ability was uncanny to write down everything on a yellow legal notepad. He played hours of solitaire and loved competitive cribbage when he got the chance to challenge anyone that entered the door.

He is survived by his daughters, Sharon Ceynar of Watford City, ND, Carol (Kenny) Sanford of Watford City, ND; Grandchildren, Jami (Shane) Novodvorsky of Douglas, ND, Laci (Seth) Cargo of Arnegard, ND, Cody (Janelle) Ceynar of Watford City, ND, Amy (Nick) Polivka of Watford City, ND, Melony (James) Douglas of Sheridan, WY, Rory (Lisa) Sanford of Watford City, ND; Great-grandchildren, Tate and Miranda Novodvorsky, Dylon Cargo, Buster Ceynar, Trey (Selina), Camden, Blake, Weston Polivka, Zooey Douglas, Tucker, Kooper, Croy, and Sully Sanford; Great-Great-grandchild, Jaxson Polivka; Sisters-in-law, Wilma Hamilton of Harrison, AR, Dianna (Jerry) Evans of Fairview, MO, and Lorraine Johnson of Stella, MO; and a host of nieces, nephews, and friends who were family.

Dan was preceded in death by his parents, Ellis and Kate Daugherty; his beloved wife, Velma Mae; his son, Kevin Dan Daugherty; his brother, William Ellis Daugherty; and sisters, Minnie Margaret Helmut and Zella Sager.

Rest easy, cowboy. Velma’s waiting with a fresh glass of sweet tea, the Opry’s playing, the ticker tape is rolling across the TV where the Broncos just won. We’ll see you down the trail where you will find the next big fish to slay with that crooked grin smiling back at us.