Daniel Postellon

Daniel Carl Postellon, 71, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, died April 22, 2020 at home. Dr. Postellon was born April 30, 1948, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Carl and Helen (Salapow) Postellon, later Koslosky, who preceded him in death. He was a graduate of St. Basil High School in Pittsburgh in 1966; of the Pennsylvania State University, earning both a B.A. and a B.S. in 1970; and of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1974. He completed a residency in pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Buffalo, New York, in 1976 and a fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh in 1978. From 1978 to 1999, he served young endocrine patients at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, during which time he also volunteered as an onsite medical staff member at Camp Midicha and later as Midicha's medical director, and taught on the faculty of Wayne State University's School of Medicine. In 1999 he moved to Grand Rapids, joining what is now Helen DeVos Children's Hospital and the faculty of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Many patients recall his encouragement to pursue their interest in the arts. He was an active member of TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery), actively supporting the organization's search for evidence surrounding the diappearance of Amelia Earhart. His interest in his Lithuanian-Belarussian-Lemko heritage drew him to the genealogical sources online, resulting in his contributing to Wikitree and contacting many relatives in distant parts of the world. When he retired from medicine in 2013, Dan developed his lifelong hobby of creating sculpture into a second career. His works appeared in shows from the Scarab Club in Detroit to Grand Rapids' own Festival of the Arts, and in the first ArtPrize. The art gallery at Dominican Center gave him a one-man show in 2013. In 2014, he created a large outdoor stone-and-cast-iron sculpture, Sekimori Ishi (Boundary Stone), in Pedvale Outdoor Art Museum in Sabile, Latvia. Back in Grand Rapids, he was a volunteer for the Grand River Folk Arts Society and a member of Instruments of Hope, the board of directors for the St. Francis of Assisi Sculpture Garden on the Marywood campus. On April 11, 1970, Dan married Mary Elinor Chamberlain, who survives along with one son, Stephen (Teresa) Kasperick-Postellon of Dexter, Michigan; one daughter, Sarah (Cory) Dolley of Bolingbrook, Illinois: one grandson, Nathaniel Skinner of Santa Clara, California; a sister, Karen (Frank) Robbins of Dumfries, Virginia; a brother, John (Victoria) Koslosky of Fairlawn, Ohio and Inman, South Carolina; his stepfather, Victor Koslosky, of Inman; two brothers-in-law, Stuart Chamberlain Jr. of West Sayville, New York, and Thomas (Judith) Chamberlain of Bartlesville, Oklahoma; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. He was a member of the Sunday Assembly of Dominican Chapel, Marywood, and with his wife became a Dominican Lay Associate on April 13, 2020, in a special ceremony conducted via Zoom. Cremation has already taken place. A Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated in Dominican Chapel when the restrictions on public assembly are lifted, allowing his many friends, family members, and former patients to attend.