Leslie Daniel Maxim, 77, of Princeton Junction, NJ, passed away peacefully after a battle with cancer on Friday, May 18, 2018, at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in Plainsboro. Born in New York, NY, Dan has resided in Princeton Junction for the past 43 years.
Dan lived an extraordinary life. He played a piano solo in Carnegie Hall at age 11. He was a pilot, an instrument flight instructor, and could land a multi-engine seaplane on lakes. He was one of the small cadre of glider pilots to fly above 25,000 feet and he flew over Pikes Peak. He was fluent in Spanish and was featured on a major television program in Chile. He believed in public service and was a tireless volunteer for over 30 years with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. He was an expert in coastal navigation and wrote several navigation text books for the US Coast Guard, the Auxiliary, and NOAA. He was the only Auxiliary volunteer to be nominated to attend the US Coast Guard Academy’s Loran-C Engineering Course. He traveled the world, logging over three million miles on commercial planes – enough to fly to the moon and back six times.
Dan was not a man of privilege. He worked for candy maker Fanny Farmer full-time while taking a regular engineering course load at Manhattan College. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering at the age of 20 and was inducted into Tau Beta Pi. He went on to earn three Masters Degrees and a Doctorate of Philosophy, Operations Research from New York University.
Dan founded his own technical consulting firm, Everest Consulting Associates, and operated it successfully for 38 years. Dan’s firm conducted research in health, safety and environmental quality, and risk assessment. His firm had a who’s who list of corporate clients. He was the author of over 200 publications, including books and technical papers, and served on numerous scientific advisory boards.
Dan was dedicated to improving recreational boating safety. In addition to holding a host of leadership positions in the Auxiliary, Dan wrote a Nautical Chart Users’ Manual and developed an internet course on marine navigation. He conducted countless search and rescue missions. He was the Chairman of the National Boating Safety Advisory Council for the US Coast Guard and former National Directorate Commodore and Assistant National Commodore of Recreational Boating with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. Dan was inducted to the National Boating Council’s Boating Safety Hall of Fame and received multiple Public Service commendations from the Commandant of the US Coast Guard. He was the recipient of the Bunzyl Boating Safety Award from the American Boat & Yacht Council Foundation.
Dan had numerous memberships including the Cosmos Club, National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, the Coast Guard Aviation Association, the US Naval Institute, and the US Navy League. He was a Colonel for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Predeceased by his parents, Leslie Morgan Maxim and Lillian (Lester) Maxim; he leaves behind to carry on his legacy, his beloved wife of 56 years, Karen (Dunne) Maxim; his daughters, Lauren Maxim Van Wazer and her husband Thomas Van Wazer, and Lysandra Danielle Maxim; and his grandchildren, William Maxim Van Wazer and his wife Elizabeth Van Wazer, and Thomas Maxim Van Wazer.
A Memorial Gathering will be held on Saturday, May 26, 2018, from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. at A.S. Cole Son & Co. Funeral Home, 22 N. Main St., Cranbury, NJ 08512. In addition, there will be a Memorial Service in September in Cape May.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Dan’s memory to the Dr. Leslie Daniel Maxim Fund for Boating Safety. Donations can be made payable to The Coast Guard Foundation, 394 Taugwonk Road, Stonington, CT 06378 or via the Foundation’s website at www.coastguardfoundation.org/MaximMemorial. The family will match donations up to $50,000.
