Dan Stober
Sept. 23, 1949-Oct. 7, 2024
Palo Alto, California
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Dan Stober, journalist, backpacker, cyclist, family man, and adored father and husband passed away on Oct. 7, 2024, from Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia.
Dan was born Sept. 23, 1949, by the banks of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida to Mary and Julius Stober. He graduated from Riverside High School (named Robert E. Lee High School at the time) in 1967 and earned a degree in journalism from the University of Florida in 1973.
Dan’s 30-year career in journalism started at a small newspaper in rural North Florida. He went on to write for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Bradenton Herald (1977-1985), before moving across the country to the Bay Area to become the Alameda County bureau chief for The San Jose Mercury News. After 20 years as a reporter and editor for “the Merc,” he left with a heavy heart, having foreseen “the death of newspapers.” Dan joined the Stanford News Service in 2007 as a science writer and then served as the director of news and media relations, sadly leaving Stanford in 2016 due the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dan’s curiosity, energy, and love for a good story showed in everything he did. Professionally, he juggled beats ranging from the city council and local breaking news to investigative reporting on nuclear espionage. In 1989 his team at The Mercury News won the Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. In another notable project, he investigated the closure of Pacific States Steel in Union City and learned that 400 retired steelworkers had never received their promised health insurance benefits. His reporting exposed misuse of funds and other improprieties, forcing action on the issue. Dan’s reporting on nuclear weapons spanned from the Reagan administration to George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, during which he wrote about the workings of both Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories. He teamed up with Ian Hoffman of the Albuquerque Journal to tell the story of alleged spy Wen Ho Lee in their book " A Convenient Spy: Wen Ho Lee and the Politics of Nuclear Espionage" (1995, Simon & Schuster).
Dan documented much of his personal life with photographs, home-made movies, and essays. He would have wanted his obit to acknowledge the difficulties of the last phase of his life with Alzheimer’s and Lewy body dementia. He was forthright about his diagnosis and was proud to participate in an experimental drug trial, hoping to contribute even as his own cognition declined.
Dan was a marathon runner, Brownie troop leader, cyclist, and a creative spirit who loved being outdoors, building things, talking to people, and, above all else, a good story. He faced life with a fearless curiosity and a love for adventure that got most of us running just a bit faster, taking the unmarked trail, or agreeing to one more trip to Home Depot.
Dan is survived by his wife, Joan Mendelson, his children Kate Stober (Rob Tuck), Andrew Stober, and Rachel Stober, grandchildren Alex and Zoe Tuck, and sister Kathi Peaks.
