Lifelong Nikiski resident Dale R. McGahan, 81, passed away Thursday, May 5, 2022, at home of natural causes. A celebration of his life will be held at the family home in Nikiski on July 30, 2022. He will be buried in the McGahan Cemetery in Nikiski. Dale was born May 13, 1940, in Germfask, Mich. He moved to Nikiski and worked as a commercial fisherman in Cook Inlet and also as a longshoreman for the Kenai and OSK docks. He enjoyed gold panning, fishing for silver salmon on the Swanson River, gardening, playing cards, and refurbishing Farmall tractors. His wife Donna wrote, “Dale was a very giving person. He helped so many people whether they were broken down on the road, looking for hunting or fishing advice, or if they needed to borrow a tool for a project. He was a trusted source of knowledge in many areas and was also very inventive. Dale was a jack-of-all-trades. He prided himself as a card player who skunked his opponents, but the same guy sweetly handed out tootsie-pops at every opportunity. He had a passion for hunting morels but kept their location mysterious, and he would always pick fresh flowers. He is now with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Dale was preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth V. and Margaret Evelyn McGahan, sisters, Ila Davidson, Margie DeShong, Sharron Otis and Elaine Odell, and brothers, William “Bill” McGahan, Butch McGahan, and Norman McGahan. He is survived by his wife, Donna Marie McGahan; son, Per Dean McGahan; daughter and son-in-law, Denise Marie and Larry Gene Buss all of Nikiski; daughter-in-law, LeAnn McGahan of Nikiski; granddaughter Jessica Elise Taylor of Nikiski; grandsons, Travis Lee McGahan of Broken Arrow, Okla., Justin Dale Schurosky of Soldotna and Silas Gene Buss of Nikiski; seven great-grandchildren; sister and brother-in-law, Carol Broussard and John Beaver; brothers and sisters-in-law, Jack and Betty McGahan and Richard and Karen McGahan, all of Nikiski. Memorial donations may be sent to Donna McGahan, 53997 Kenai Spur Hwy., Kenai, AK 99611. Arrangements by Peninsula Memorial Chapel.