Dan Tauriello “never wanted to stop working” and he didn’t until a few weeks before his death, said his wife, Anne Tauriello of Denver.
Dan Tauriello, who served in three wars and had a longtime career as a safety professional, died of lung cancer at the Denver Hospice on Aug. 11.
He was 85.
A memorial is planned at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral, East 13th Avenue and Washington Street.
Tauriello, who owned Omni Safety Consulting Services, “never sat on the sidelines,” said his wife. “He wasn’t afraid to speak up.”
For 30 years Tauriello worked on small and huge projects as the safety expert: the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building, the Stapleton redevelopment project and for oil and gas companies.
“He took the same care no matter the size of the company,” said his son, Daniel Joseph Tauriello, who worked with his father.
The elder Tauriello would write a safety manual — covering dozens of areas, including electrical safety, confined spaces, fire, excavations and even drug safety — for each project. The manuals were usually more than 100 pages each. The aim was to meet OSHA and EPA standards, said Daniel Joseph Tauriello, but his father had his own stringent standards.
Before getting into the safety industry, Tauriello had a long career in the military.
He was a bomber pilot in World War II in England, France and Holland and flew 45 missions.
He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War, was in the Air Defense Command and served as a fighter wing safety director during the Vietnam War.
He flew 113 missions in Laos and Vietnam.
Daniel Tauriello was born in Rochester, N.Y., Nov. 21, 1922, and went into the Army Air Corps after high school.
In 1955, he married Anne McCorry of Boston, whom he met at Baylor University in Texas.
For several years, from the late 1970s until the early 1980s, Tauriello was on the Aurora school board.
During that time he helped bring computers to elementary schools, commission new schools and finance improvements at Aurora Central High School.
He led a citizens’ crusade, his family said, that led to the founding of the Community College of Aurora.
In addition to his wife and son, he is survived by two other sons: Michael Tauriello and Paul Tauriello, and a daughter, Lisa Tauriello, all of Aurora; four grandchildren; and three brothers: Michael Tauriello of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., Frank Tauriello of Laguna Beach, Calif., and Joseph Tauriello of Rochester, N.Y.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
