Daniel Paul Kiessling, 53, suffered a burst iliac aneurysm on the late morning of Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, while working at Lena Harding’s home. He died in the early afternoon of the same day in the Pullman Memorial Hospital in the presence of multiple medical persons and his parents, Nicolas K. Kiessling and Karen A. Kiessling.
On the morning of his death, he played five games of pingpong with his father and showed no signs of any sort of illness. After work, he intended to hike in the snow on a favorite trail below Moscow Mountain.
Dan was born on March 12, 1970, raised in Pullman and graduated Summa Cum Laude in fine arts from Washington State University. Art was his delight and his daily pursuit. He created glorious pictures of the Palouse for his own pleasure, never caring whether others saw his pictures but sharing them with friends from time to time. He had one public art show, at Nelson Duran’s Bank Left Gallery in Palouse, which was a success, but he preferred to keep his work private. When he finished with a work, he put it on a pile in the basement and was mildly amused that the pile reached 3 feet high. His interests did not include marketing or exhibitions. The joy of creation was enough for him.
Dan was happy to be on his own, glad to share adventures but loved biking Moscow Mountain and riding down the Lewiston Hill, playing disc golf at Sunnyside Park, camping in the Wallowas and exploring on twice-yearly trips to central Utah. He read voraciously and for many years volunteered at the food bank at Community Action Center.
His sudden death has created a huge hole in the lives of his parents. While living at his parents’ home, he took care of the interior and exterior of the house, did yard work and maintained the car. He also had a number of people for whom he performed weekly tasks.
Dan was an special gift to his parents, Karen and Nick Kiessling, whom he readily helped and kept them comfortable and entertained. They survive him at the family home in Pullman. He is also survived by his older brother, Mark Kiessling, of Olympia.
A private family ceremony will be held when his ashes are scattered in a wild and lovely place on Kamiak Butte. His art we have and his memory shines bright. If you knew Dan and cared for him, he would be pleased if you would do a kindness for someone. That mattered to him. An online guestbook is available at corbeillfuneralhomes.com. Corbeill Funeral Home of Pullman is in charge of arrangements.
