Daniel Craig Masten

JUNE 3, 1951 – OCTOBER 14, 2022

Daniel Craig Masten, 71, passed away in Nashville, Tennessee the morning of October 14, 2022. Born in Greencastle on June 3, 1951 to the late Donus E. and Dorothy A. Masten, Dan was a 1969 graduate of Greencastle High School.

While at GHS, he was initiated into the National Honor Society, and served as a delegate to Hoosier Boy’s State. A scholastically gifted high-achiever, he attended Wabash College, graduating in 1973 Magna Cum Laude with Distinction, and was invited into the Phi Beta Kappa Society. While at Wabash he was a member of the John Van Sycle Society, a group with roots at the University of Chicago, where members routinely attended symposia with the likes of Milton Friedman, Benjamin Rogge, and George J. Stigler. He was also selected in the summer of 1972 to page for Congressman John Myers in Washington, D.C. A proud member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, one of Dan’s greatest joys was gathering with his fraternity brothers for Homecoming or Monon Bell weekend. These men became his friends for life.

Upon graduation from Wabash, Dan attended Vanderbilt University School of Law, receiving his Juris Doctor in 1979. He entered private practice in a Nashville partnership, and built many life-long relationships with colleagues and clients. He was licensed in Tennessee, Indiana, and Alabama, and was admitted before the Supreme Courts of all three states. At the time of his passing, he was serving as Chief Magistrate in the Davidson County (Tennessee) court system.

Dan is survived by brothers David and Tom, sister Julie, nephew Greg Masten, niece Stefanie Masten, companion/fiancée Nancy Claire Mark, and his former spouse and always friend, Mildred Plant Masten.

Dan loved his family, Sigma Chi, his fraternity Brothers, Wabash College, and his friends and brothers in the Fellowship. Particular thanks in that regard go to Jay Dickerson, who played a major role in his life post-November 8, 1990.

There will be at least two Celebrations of Life in Nashville; our Greencastle Celebration will be November 12, 2022 at Hopkins-Rector Funeral Chapel, with the service beginning at 10:00 a.m. Dan was a serious fan of Wabash Football, so we thought it appropriate for the service to coincide with the Monon Bell game day. To his cherished friends and family, there can be no doubt that from Chapter Eternal, a twelfth man will be rooting the Little Giants on to victory.