Daniel Leroy Hood

Daniel Leroy Hood died quietly at his home in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, September 19, 2009, just 2 days shy of his 52nd birthday. Dan was born on September 21, 1957 in Sterling, Illinois to the late Raymond Bruce and Maxine (McBride) Hood. He graduated from Sycamore High School in Sycamore, Illinois, Class of 1975. As a young man, he worked as a manager for the McDonald's Corporation as well as the Southland Corporation in Temple, Texas. He later lived a short time in Bryan College Station, Texas. Dan moved to Arizona from Texas in 1987 and worked as a car salesman for various auto dealers as well as various road barricade companies. For the past several years, Dan worked as a road striper for Pavement Marking, Incorporated based out of Tempe. With his work, Dan was able to travel throughout the entire state and really grew to appreciate the beauty he found in Arizona. Dan truly was young at heart and loved anything that had to do with railroads, even owning an extensive collection of trains. He was a quiet man, yet he was a caring neighbor. Frequently he could be found mowing his neighbors' lawns, "just because". Dan is survived by: 1 sister, Debbie Ebright of Grandview, Missouri; 3 brothers: David Freeman, Darrell Freeman (Chris) of Longmont, Colorado, Dana (Heidi) Hood of Fort Collins, Colorado and his nieces and nephews. Dan was preceded in death by: his mother, Maxine Hood in 1973; his father, Raymond Hood in 1991; and by a sister, Donna Smith in 1998. A public Memorial Service will be held 3:00 P.M., Saturday, September 26, 2009 at Wyman's Chapel, 115 S. Country Club Drive in Mesa, Arizona. Memorial contributions in his name to the Phoenix Rescue Mission or to the American Cancer Society have been suggested by his family.