Daniel Cane passed away Thursday, November 20 surrounded by loved ones. Dan was born June 11, 1931 in Newark, NJ. He was the second of three boys, born to kind, hard-working Jewish immigrants who owned a candy store. He spent his childhood in the Bronx  and later graduated from City College with a bachelors of arts in English. In the 60’s he migrated to California where he spent time in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Marin County, before moving to Palm Springs in the late 90’s.

As successful copywriter, Dan wrote direct mail copy for a variety of nonprofit organizations including the ACLU, Common Cause, the Cousteau Society, Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. He met the love of his life, Dick Hammond who was in the direct mail business, at a conference in the 60’s. They spent 25 years together until Dick’s passing in 1989.

Dan was a lover of music, theater, animals and good-looking men. He knew every show tune, was a connoiseur of the pun and a great joke teller. He was known for his kindness, generosity and patience. As an investor in the Tropicale (Palm Springs), Dan enjoyed the camaraderie of his restaurant “family." His community work included Applause (Los Angeles) and the Desert AIDS Project (Palm Springs).

Dan was preceded in death by his partner, Richard Hammond, his brother Sy Cane and his sister-in-law Helene Cane. He is survived by his brother, Al Chatinsky (Lola), three nephews, Mark Chatinsky (Gail Goldwasser), Steve Chatinsky, Jonathan Cane (Nicole Sin Quee), two nieces, Alisa Chatinsky (Craig Wells) and Rachel Cane (Tony Keefe) and three great-nephews Sam Wheeler (Kelly Haslund), Ben Wheeler (Gabrielle Arroyo) and Simon Cane as well as his long-time friends Roger Craver (Janet) and Michael Murphy.

A celebration of Dan's life will take place Friday, January 16 at 4 - 6 pm at the Saguaro Hotel, 1800 E Palm Canyon Drive Palm Springs, CA, 92264.  

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dan’s memory to Desert AIDS Project, 1695 N Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, CA 92262.