July/September 2015

Photos by Lyn Sims
Love your family.
Spend time, be kind
and serve one another.
are the words this
husband, father of
two, local celebrity
and friend lives by.
Written by Lou Pimber
Love your family. Spend time, be kind and serve one another are
the words this husband, father of two, local celebrity and friend
lives by. That’s right, Dan Marries who with passion for keeping
others informed has been delivering the news for nearly 20 years,
16 of those right here in the Old Pueblo for KOLD – TV. “Find
a job that you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
That’s how Dan feels about his work and it most definitely shows,
especially if you’re lucky enough to run into him around town. He
never hesitates to stop to chat or listen to your very own Tucson
News Now “breaking story”.
Not very many people know that Dan’s first love was to become
a pilot. He had always thought about it, after all, it runs in his
family. His grandfather, dad, and brother all fly but due to getting
airsick pretty easily, the dream of flying was quickly grounded.
Dan even considered firefighting after spending four summers as
a wildland firefighter with the Bureau of Land Management; three
seasons in Colorado and one was in Carson City, Nevada as a
crew member of the Carson City Helitack.
It wasn’t until Danwas working at a SCUBA shop and “starred”
in a local commercial that he knew he was hooked on TV news.
The next day Dan says, “I changed my major (the 5th and final
time) and within a year I was interning at KREX-TV in Grand
Junction.” A few months later he got the job and was hired as
the morning anchor/producer while still a junior in college. That,
ladies and gentlemen is where it all started and now nearly 20
years later he loves it as much today as he did back then.
Once you meet Dan Marries, you quickly feel like you’ve known
him for years and that’s probably because from the age of 12 he
grew up in a tiny city called Pawnee. But if you ask him where
he’s from, don’t expect a straight answer because he’ll tell you he’s
from San Diego, Oklahoma and Grand Junction, Colorado. That
almost sounds like a Johnny Cash song and to make matters even
more confusing, he was born in Anchorage, Alaska where his
father was stationed while serving this great country of ours in the
U.S. Air Force.
Dan Marries’ story is fitting to be in Tucson Model Magazine as
he is seen as someone worth modeling, he is known to be fair,
balanced and accurate; a man of a character worthy of being
modeled after. Dan spends his time as an active member in our
community hosting and emceeing dozens of events for a number
of local non-profits every year. He is the charter president of the
Casas Adobes Optimist Club and is a founding member of the
Greater Tucson Fire Foundation. As a former wildland firefighter,
helping local firefighters is close to his heart. If you look closely
you might even find him out and about with his oldest son hiking.
Dan is happily married to his beautiful wife Jennifer and this
year they celebrated the birth of their son Dean Wesley Marries
on January 15th. Dan’s oldest son, Kurtis, is a senior in high
school and plans on attending Pima Community College then the
University of Arizona.
When I look at the cover of this issue of Tucson Model Magazine,
I can’t help but feel the love Dan has for his family and reflect on
George Elliot who said, ‘What greater thing is there for the human
souls than to feel they are joined for life – to be with each other in
silent unspeakable memories’.
It wasn’t until Dan was working at a SCUBA shop and
“starred” in a local commercial that he knew he was hooked
on TV news.
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