Tacoma, WA - Danny George Engle, 84, died 31 July 2025. He was born in Spokane, WA, the second of seven children of Earl & Helen Engle. Danny grew up farming on Deer Lake and in Clayton, WA. The Deer Lake farm was situated around a spectacularly beautiful estuary that is now part of the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge.

The family moved to Deer Park in the mid-1950's, where Earl opened the iconic Earl's Tire Shop on Main Street, specializing in recapping used tires. Danny attended Upper Columbia Academy, Spangle, and Auburn Adventist Academy, where he graduated. He enlisted in the USMC in 1960, was recognized as the best marksman in his battalion with the Expert Rifle Badge and served as a Special Radio Operator with Top-Secret clearance. He was assigned to sensitive listening stations in Turkey and Bremerhaven, GE, where he met his first spouse, Helke. They were married in 1963 in Spokane and, because it was the Cold War and she was a German citizen, Corporal Engle lost his TS clearance, was reassigned to Camp Lejeune, and transitioned to civilian life in 1964.

He and Helke moved to Chicago, where Dan studied electronics at DeVry University and their two sons were born, Steven & Christopher. After graduating, Dan accepted a job with Boeing in Seattle and lived on Beacon Hill. In 1967, Dan left Boeing to join the Seattle Police Department and the family moved to the nascent suburb of Federal Way. Dan later earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Puget Sound.

Dan had a long and notable career with SPD. He worked patrol his first two years, then promoted to detective, serving in divisions such as Fraud and Bunco and on the SPD bomb squad. His time on the bomb squad was during the turbulent mid-70's; he and his team were called upon to defuse, detonate, and investigate numerous bombs set by militant groups, including fatal pipe bombs that exploded in a Capitol Hill grocery and a Seattle Center sub-station. Dan moved to the Homicide Division in the late 70's and served there for many years. He investigated many of the most notorious and tragic homicides in Seattle's history and had an uncanny ability to solve cases. In addition to appearing in numerous articles in the Seattle Times and other media, Dan's investigative work was featured in an episode of Cold Case Files as the lone holdout to charging the prime suspect, which years later proved right when DNA evidence implicated somebody else. Dan also served as security for the entirety of the NASL Seattle Sounders, starting in 1975 at Memorial Stadium until the league folded in 1983, and developed friendships with many of the players, coaches, and team personnel, and taking players like Shawn Elliot, Kevin Bond and others salmon fishing. When Dan was promoted to Sergeant, he transferred to patrol, then Harbor Patrol and finally back to Homicide.

Dan was an avid fisherman, spending many many early mornings fishing for salmon at Possession Sound, Seiku, and Tahsis, BC, steelhead on the Cowlitz and Green Rivers, and marlin, ono, and ahi in Kealakekua Bay, HI. When the boys were young, every summer included lots of camping throughout the PNW and spending time with Dan's six siblings and their families.

Dan was divorced in 1981 and stepped up to be the boys primary care giver. In 1986 Dan married Jan Ruhl, a fellow SPD officer. Jan also had a long and distinguished career with SPD, joining in 1964 and serving in the "Women's Bureau", Narcotics, the "Fencing Squad", and after promotion to Lieutenant, as a watch commander at the North Precinct and the Robbery unit.

Dan and Jan retired together in 1991 and moved to the Big Island of Hawaii where they lived until Jan's passing in 2024. It was obvious to all that Dan and Jan loved every minute of living together in Paradise and were truly happy spending 40 years together. They pursued many interests, including operating a macadamia nut farm, a small coffee farm, and a charter fishing boat, working security at the Kona Airport, selling real estate, and delivering meals for elderly and home-bound people. They shared many incredible adventures, such as learning to pilot small aircraft, sail, skipper a boat through the Inside Passage to Desolation Sound and Alaska, SCUBA dive, and owning several successful thoroughbreds, such as Jan's Grey Pop, who won numerous Longacres races. They especially loved to travel and some of their most notable trips included boating through the canals of France, exploring the hill towns of Italy, visiting Heidelberg, GE when Steve and family were stationed there with the Army, enjoying the sights of Sao Paulo when Chris lived there, climbing to the peaks of Machu Pichu, experiencing the jungles of Costa Rica, and taking in the wonders of the Galapagos Islands.

Danny George Engle is survived by his sons, Steven (Kathy) and Christopher (John), stepdaughter Kimberly (Corey) Branch, grandchildren Dora, Sophie, Parker, Samuel, Chloe, and Angela, six siblings, Earl, Christina, Tamara, Penelope, Deborah, and James. He is predeceased by his beloved Jan,

parents, Earl & Helen Engle, and stepson, Michael Judd.

The family would like to thank the kind and skilled professionals at GenCare, Point Ruston, Eliseo, Tacoma, Tacoma General, and the Seattle Police Officer Pension Office.

The family is planning a celebration of life, with honors, to recognize the lives, service, and enormous contributions of Dan and Jan at the Seattle Police Athletic Association Pavilion, Tukwila, on Saturday, 2 p.m., 3 January 2026. All who knew them or would like to pay respects are welcome. For more information, please contact any family member or leave a comment in the Guest Book.