Daniel Allan Cookes

Daniel “Dan” Allan Cookes, 80, of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, passed away on August 10, 2025, at Advent Hospital in Daytona Beach, Fl.

Born on November 9, 1944, in Burlington, Iowa, he was the second oldest of four siblings and was preceded in death by his parents Nancy (Carson) Cookes, Robert Cookes and his daughter, Crystal Slach.

Dan proudly served in the United States Navy from 1964 to 1968 aboard the USS Little Rock CLG-4 and the USS Springfield CLG-7, and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Some of his duties entailed being the weather man while out to sea. His military service was a source of lifelong pride.

At the age of 20, Dan courageously ran into a burning house fire in Coralville, Iowa and saved a family of 6 while they slept in the middle of the night. The news article, dated 1964, said the parents of the 4 small children in which he saved were so happy that Dan and his friend came in the house to check on them as they were hard sleepers and may not have woken up otherwise. The house succumbed to the fire and burnt to the ground.

After his time in the Navy, Dan’s adventurous nature shaped a vibrant and varied life. He married the love of his life Jene Candace Cookes and they enjoyed 55 memorable years of unity and adventure together. Traveling the United States and even went to Europe, several times with their tug-of-war team.

Dan enjoyed farming and raising Percheron horses, riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and coaching competitive Tug of War teams, leading them to a first place United States National Championship and a third-place finish at the World Championships in Europe. His wife and two of his 5 daughters were part of his Percheron tug of war team. He also spent memorable years boating and traveling across the United States and Canada, transporting rock bands during their concert tours. A few of his favorite tours were Gladys Knight and Leslie West with the band Mountain. They called him “Dan The Man” and loved his top tier, professional driving skills and felt safe while he drove them cross country.

While living in upstate New York, Dan developed close bonds with members of the Amish community, whom he considered family. He enjoyed long conversations over coffee and homemade pie with them.

Dan had a passion for refinishing antique wood boats and left his mark in the boating community in upstate, (Alexandria Bay), New York. Dan brought many Antique wood boats back to their original state and was extremely good at it!

He also very much enjoyed fishing with his granddaughters, Navella Sanchez and Jade Thomas. 

Dan was a professional water ski jumper in his younger years as well.

Dan was an entrepreneur and owned several businesses. One was a tour bus company in Iowa city, Iowa, Percheron Bus Tours, and later he moved to Florida and opened an antique business, Antebellum Antiques.

Dan is survived by his wife, Jene Candace Cookes; daughters Stacy (Slach) (Tim) Jones, Giselle Little, Anita (Rodger) Rutherford, and Nicole (Cookes) (Mario) Sanchez; brothers Vince Cook and Tim Cook; sister Jean (Cookes) Kincaid; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

In keeping with his wishes, Dan will be cremated, and his ashes will be interred at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery in Mims, Florida. When that is scheduled, those services will be updated here to show for family and friends who wish to attend.

He rode through life with the throttle wide open — and left the world with the same strength, grit, and love he carried every day.