Douglas Mark McDaniel

Doug was born to Martha and Gene McDaniel on November 19, 1970. He grew up in Farmington, Utah along with his older brother, Stephen, and younger sister, Kathryn. Doug enjoyed a childhood filled with family adventures, Boy Scout experiences, little league sports, and outdoor activities like hiking, camping, fishing, and skiing.

In 1989, Doug graduated from Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah. Shortly after his graduation, Doug suffered a broken neck while swimming with a youth group at Lake Powell. Although he was fortunate to avoid any paralysis, Doug had a lengthy recovery and faced myriad health issues, including extreme physical pain, for the rest of his life. Despite those difficulties, Doug went on to explore the world, experiencing numerous adventures and heartaches along the way, while caring deeply for his family and loved ones. 

While still recovering from his neck injury, Doug served an honorable mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served for a few months in England before being reassigned to Louisiana, where he served the remainder of his mission. Doug did not remain active in the church after his mission but remained respectful of its importance in his family’s history and maintained fond memories of the times he enjoyed as a Boy Scout and missionary.

Upon returning home to Farmington after his mission, Doug attended the University of Utah and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He spent most of his career working for Delta Airlines, where he worked for more than 25 years in reservations, as a ramp agent, and most recently as a de-icing coordinator. 

Doug was briefly married to Kristen Nielsen. After divorce, Doug met and fell in love with Marisela Morales (Mari). Doug and Mari were married on a beach in Hawaii in October 2007. Doug and Mari cared deeply for each other and planned to spend the rest of their lives together. Sadly, circumstances prevented them from living together when Mari was forced by U.S. immigration to relocate to Venezuela, where she remained for the rest of Doug’s life. Despite being unable to establish a home together in the United States, Doug and Mari sought to be together as often as possible—including spending one anniversary in Paris—and they shared a deep love for each other. 

Because of his work at Delta, Doug was able to travel around the globe and worked in several different locations across the United States. He visited multiple continents and numerous countries, where he had all kinds of adventures. As a young man, Doug had an interest in Russia and was able to visit the country several times. On one of those visits, Doug’s adventures went a bit awry and he wound up spending a night as a guest in a Russian interrogation facility. 

Central to Doug’s life was his love for his family and friends. Doug was fun, loving, insightful, and helpful in his roles as a husband, son, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend. Doug never had children of his own but he doted on his nieces and nephews and he loved them dearly. In his interactions with others, Doug’s kind and caring heart was regularly on display as he was often among the first to offer help when someone was in need. That kindness and caring heart was particularly evident in the way Doug helped care for his mother in her final months after she suffered a debilitating stroke. 

With his quiet but caring nature, Doug sometimes masked his physical pain, heartache stemming from his forced separation from Mari, and resulting private struggles with depression. Those struggles ultimately resulted in his tragic and untimely death. 

Doug was preceded in death by his mother, Martha. He is survived by his father, Gene, his siblings Stephen (Justine) and Kathryn, as well as his nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and other family members—all of whom will dearly miss Doug. 

A memorial service to honor Doug’s life will be held at 1:00pm on Friday, August 25, 2023 at Steed Creek church, 347 South 200 West in Farmington Utah. Family and friends are encouraged to gather and visit at the church beginning at noon. 

The ward will be streaming the services using the following link https://zoom.us/j/92581272394?pwd=UXU2OUVIRFVDL045cUpvN3BHM2tZUT09