Dr. Jack Tupper Daniels

Dr. Jack Tupper Daniels passed away peacefully on September 12th, 2025 at the age of 92 in his home in Cortland, NY. Preceded in death by his brothers Danny, Kent, and Jerry, he is survived by his wife Nancy and daughters Audra and Sarah. Jack was born to Louise and Ronald “Bob” Daniels in Detroit, Michigan in 1933, and as an infant was moved to the Bay Area of California, (San Carlos). He spent his childhood and adolescence following around his older brother Danny in nearly everything he did. As kids, they hunted abalone shells in the Half Moon Bay with crowbars, they showed their great dane Drago in local dog shows, and they played with their beagles Katie and Little Katie in the woods. In high school, they both became excellent competitive swimmers and took their gym classes incredibly seriously. Jack also had a passion for Big Band music and notably only attended one school dance as a teen, as he was almost always playing trombone in the band. Jack ultimately followed Danny to the University of Montana after one year at the Colorado School of Mines. In Montana, where their younger brothers Kent and Jerry eventually joined Jack and Danny, they spent much of their free time fishing and big-game hunting. In another attempt to follow in Danny’s footsteps, Jack became a smoke jumper in Missoula. After finishing his undergraduate degree, Jack joined the U.S. Army and spent time as a rifle platoon leader at the DMZ, between North and South Korea. It was during his time in the Army that Jack was introduced to the Modern Pentathlon. Though he was already an excellent swimmer and a good shot, he learned how to horseback ride, fence, and finally, run. He ended up taking his talents in the Pentathlon to the 1956 and 1960 Olympics, earning himself and the U.S. team a silver and a bronze medal, respectively. Jack’s weakest event in the Pentathlon was running, and so he began his graduate studies in exercise science with the goal of understanding how to improve one’s running ability. He studied at the University of Oklahoma where he also taught and in his time in Oklahoma he also coached at Oklahoma City University. He continued his studies at The University of Wisconsin, Madison where he earned his PhD in exercise science. Jack went on to coach runners at both the Olympic and collegiate levels throughout his professional career. He brought the SUNY Cortland men’s and women’s track and cross country teams to success multiple times and enjoyed coaching at Wells College until he retired. Jack met his wife, Nancy at the University of Texas at Austin where she ran for him on the university team. Together they worked at Nike/Athletics West in New Hampshire and later Eugene, Oregon. It’s while they were in Eugene where they welcomed their first daughter into the world, Audra. Then while living in New York they welcomed their second daughter, Sarah. Of all of Jack’s accomplishments it was building his family that brought him the most pride and joy. Live it up, Jack! A service will be held on Saturday, September 20th at 2pm at Grace Christian Fellowship, 1250 Fisher Ave, Cortland, NY. Those who choose to send flowers are asked to have them delivered to the family home, 90 N Main St., Cortland, NY. Arrangements are under the direction of Riccardi Funeral Home, Cortland, NY.

Dr. Jack Tupper Daniels

April 26, 1933 - September 12, 2025