Daniel Olaizola

Danny "Pops" Olaizola passed away on Monday, Oct. 5, 2015, in Clarkston. He was 66.

Danny was born in New York City to Herman and Teresa (Rosa) Olaizola and was raised between New York and Puerto Rico, graduating from Bayamon High School there in 1967. He also attended the university in Puerto Rico before returning to New York.

Danny served in the U.S. Army from 1972 to 1975 and served as an armorer in El Paso, Texas, and in Germany. He studied at El Paso Community College, where he received his associate degree in elementary school education. He married Maria Guadalupe Karsky in El Paso and the couple later divorced. Danny moved to the Northwest, where he received his degree in chemical dependency counseling in Everett, Wash. He met Valerie Allen in Santa Fe, N.M., and the couple married on Sept. 6, 2000, in Denver.

Danny was also a musician and came from a very musical family. He played congas and sang with various bands before co-founding Yoboso, which won a national award in the 1990s. He was also a member of Nueva Era Band from Seattle, which won an award in the early 2000s. He recorded 20 albums during his lifetime.

Danny is survived by his wife, Valerie Allen-Olaizola; children Dion F. Olaizola, James G. Henderson II, Danielle Olaizola- Hysaw, Daniel Olaizola, Genya Wyfels, and Christina Olaizola; and sisters Eloise Olaizola and Nancy Olaizola. He was preceded in death by his father, Herman Olaizola; mother Teresa Rosa-Palmer; maternal grandparents Maria Medina-Rosa and Segundo Rosa; and paternal grandparents Delores Trossi-Olaizola and Fermin Olaizola.

Visitation will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at Malcom's Brower-Wann Funeral Home. Interment will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at Seelupaauyeen Cemetery in Culdesac.