Daniel Casale Sr. was born on December 15, 1938 the youngest of 4, in Springfield NJ. In 1952 the family moved to 200+ acres in Bartley, NJ. where they milked 35 cows, farmed wheat, oats, and corn.
Dan graduated from Roxbury High School in 1956 where after graduation, he continued to work on the farm.
In 1952 he joined 4-H exhibiting Brown Swiss cattle and would meet his future wife, Lois Wolfe.
In 1958 he and Lois began dating and then married in 1960 in Hackettstown, NJ. They welcomed their first child Karen in 1962 followed by Daniel Jr. in 1963.
In 1967 the whole Casale Family moved to Waterford, CA. where their third child, Dona was born in 1969.
Once in California Dan worked with his older brother Sal breeding dairy cattle, he then went to work for Carnation Genetics handling bulls.
In 1970 Dan became the dairy Herdsman for Harvey Matson who Dan and Lois would eventually purchase their custom farming business from.
Casale Farms farmed hundreds of acres for many local dairies for more than 10 years. Dan would also co-found RX Seeds, a successful seed company in the 1990’s. In 1971 Dan and Lois purchased 24 acres in Denair, where their youngest, Mary was born.
Daughter Karen got the family back in the dairy business in 1978 eventually becoming Ranora Jerseys.
In 35 years over 100 EX90 cows would have the Ranora prefix, many also winning DHIA production awards.
In 1992 Dan was named the Senior Breeder by the California Jersey Cattle Association.
The family shared great success in the show ring winning the Supreme Best 3 Females and Premier Breeder at the California State Fair and breeding a Supreme Reserve Champion at the World Dairy Expo.
Aside from the numerous champions and premier breeder awards, Dan was known around the fairgrounds for his all-girl crew and the clean barn Herdsman awards.
Dan was a 4-H leader and had coached Little League and church basketball teams. He served on the local water conservation board, the Milk Quality Board and the Denair Farm & Family Committee. Dan is a past President of the Central Valley and California Jersey Cattle Associations and the Stanislaus DHIA.
He was a member of the Waterford Community Baptist Church for over 50 years and was baptized in the Tuolumne River in 2018.
In later years Dan loved collecting and restoring antique tractors with his son Dan Jr., he was a member of W.H.E.A.T. and E.D.G.E.T.A. Dan became a fan favorite in local parades with his patriotism on display driving his 1950 Farmall M.
Dan passed peacefully at his home on October 10, 2023, due to health complications. Dan was preceded in death by his parents Rocco & Angela, siblings Sal, Betty & Anthony Casale.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years Lois, children Karen, Dan Jr. (Dawn), Dona (Jason) and Mary (Matthew), 9 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at Lakewood Memorial Park in Hughson Ca. Viewing will be Thursday 10/26/2023 4-8 pm. Funeral services will be held on 10/27/2023 at 10 am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Junior Jersey Association or the Waterford Community Bible Church.
