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Daniel Vinson, the retired superintendent of the Woodside Elementary School District, died Oct. 11 surrounded by his family. He was 62.
Mr. Vinson led the one-school district in the dual role of superintendent/principal for four years, beginning in 2004. He retired after school ended for the year in June 2008.
During his tenure, Mr. Vinson steered the school through an ambitious bond measure and modernization campaign that added more than a dozen classrooms and a new administration building, as well as other facilities, to the campus.
Shortly before he retired, Mr. Vinson was named the grand marshal of the annual Woodside May Day parade, a community event that begins at the elementary school campus.
“Over the past year, many have shared lovely stories about him, and that is enough to give me an appreciation for his talents, warmth and generosity of spirit,” said Diana Abbati, Woodside’s current superintendent/principal.
Anne Campbell, the superintendent of the neighboring Portola Valley School District, called Mr. Vinson “a consummate gentleman.”
“He was just one of those delightful people, he always had a twinkle in his eye,” she said.
Born in Alameda, Mr. Vinson attended Chico State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in social science. He earned a master’s degree in educational administration from San Jose State and his doctorate in education from the University of San Francisco.
Before being hired in Woodside, he was the superintendent of the Rancho Santa Fe School District in Southern California.
He is survived by his wife, Sara Jane Vinson of Saratoga; his children, Alison Gaconnet of San Diego and Andrew Vinson of Windsor; his brother Tim Vinson of Redwood Valley; and three grandchildren.
Services were held at the Saratoga Federated Church. The family prefers memorial donations be made to UCSF Foundation (in memory of Daniel Vinson for brain tumor program), P.O. Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145-0339.