Obituaries

Daniel Komer was born May 2, 1945 in Culver City California to Evelyn and Harry Komer .He was baby brother to Shiela and Donnamae. He called Mexico City and Austin Texas home. Dan currently ran a small rental in Austin Texas for over 12 years. He called himself an innkeeper. Prior to this, he was the owner of Treaty Oaks Maps Company and worked for RL Polk and Company in international sales. As a child he attended Culver Elementary School and Culver High School. He later attended Lewis and Clark College, Thunderbird School of Global Management, and the University Southern California Marshall School of Business, where he earned his MBA.

Danny liked bringing people together and he liked celebrating birthdays. Friends remember Danny as a friendly, upbeat guy, who brought joy to their daily routine! He had a smile for everyone and everyone returned his smile. He was always ready with a joke. Danny had a great sense of humor. Seeing Danny was a highlight of their day.

Danny’s friends described him as generous. One person described how Danny had given him a job with Treaty Oak (a business Dan ran from an office in his house), when Dan had known him only a short time. Danny shared photos, food, and recipes. Friends who came for dinner always left with dishes to be eaten later. While he was travelling, he always brought back gifts and non-perishable foods like cookies and coffee. He never forgot a birthday.

Danny was an entrepreneur and loved to travel. Throughout his life he traveled all over the world and extensively through Latin America. He loved maps and ecology. But his biggest hobby and the love of his life were his dachshunds, which he shared offspring of with many family and friends. Danny influenced so many people. His biological family and chosen family will always be with him, think of him often, and miss him terribly. You all will always be with us Danny! We are all made from stars. We will think of you every time we see a tree or a dachshund.

Danny is survived by his sister Donnamae and his nieces and nephews and many dear and close friends.

Danny in his own words from a letter to a friend:
Going to Oaxaca in 1963 with our group turned out to be one of the most influential events of my adult life.  I don’t know if you remember I returned to Mexico City for part of my junior year. I lived in the pension on La Fontaine and attended University of the America.   After graduating Lewis and Clark in 1967 I attended Thunderbird School for International Management.  After receiving my BFT (bachelor in foreign trade) I returned home to Southern California.  In 1970 I began my international banking career and studied part-time at USC where I received my MBA in 1972.  During those years I frequently visited Oaxaca and Mexico City from Los Angeles.  In 1972 an Indianapolis bank recruited me for their new Latin America Department.  I moved to Indianapolis and in 1974, I moved to Mexico City to establish their Mexico Representative Office.  That was ten years after the Lewis and Clark group left Mexico City and returned to Portland. In 1977 I left banking and went into international sales.  Over the next 35 years, I headed up the Latin America division for two diverse financial services companies from Mexico City.  I lived in Mexico long enough to have qualified for “legal resident alien” status (equivalent to our Green Card).  I continued to visit Oaxaca and stayed with my Oaxaca family. Los Alavarez. In 1978 I bought an acre of woods in the only ecological subdivision in Latin America.   Located on the slopes of Xitle volcano on the southern extremes of DF in the Tlalpan district. The elevation at my front door is 8,500 ft. It is always cool and in the Winter, it can freeze at night. I constructed a small two-story home in a wooded area looking down on Mexico City.  The view at night is almost like what you see from an airplane.  Muy bonito. In 1982, I moved my base of operations to Austin, Texas, where I have lived in the same house for almost thirty-five years.  I still have my Mexico City house.  When I turned 65 in 2010 I decided traveling one week a month somewhere in Latin America every month, as I have done for thirty-three years, was enough. I retired.  Looking back I think for most of those years I was married to my job.  I have amigos all over Hispanio America but never partnered up. Austin is a most wonderful place to live and my house is about 2 1/2 miles from the Texas Capitol.  My house is very close to downtown in an established 50’s neighborhood. Originally a duplex, over the years it has been converted to one large house, with a small mother-in-law house, without the mother-in-law, and an office suite. In 2011 I started renting some of the units on Airbnb.  Austin being a big music venue and now Formula One racing, etc. it is easy to find good guests.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to:

Central Texas Dachshund Rescue https://www.ctdr.org

Or plant trees Jewish National Fund https://www.jnf.org   or 800-542-8733