Daniel Musko will be remembered for always putting the well-being of others first, according to family members, friends and former colleagues.

Musko, of Butler, died Monday, Sept. 23, at the age of 76.

One of five brothers, Musko was a proud native of Butler County and a graduate of Butler Area Senior High School and Slippery Rock University, according to his obituary, which he wrote himself.

It was not out of character for Musko to think of others at such a time, according to his younger brother George Musko.

“It was never about him, it was about the community,” he said. “He wanted the obituary to be personal. He wanted to thank everyone, to reach out.”

Thanking others was one of Musko’s favorite things to do, according to his wife, Cindy.

“He was continually giving and caring,” she said. “I knew what a wonderful man he was, but we were just doing what comes naturally to us.”

Cindy recalled her husband’s many ways of saying thanks.

“He was very creative in his way of being generous,” she said.

He would order 20 loaves of bread from Derosa Bakery in New Castle or six dozen Russian sweet rolls from Lyndora Bakery to distribute among friends, associates or new people in the community, she said.

But baked goods were just the beginning, according to Cindy.

“He’d load his pockets with candy to give a little ‘payday’ to the mechanic or to pass out Tootsie Rolls and lollipops to everyone at a basketball game,” she said.

“He got so much enjoyment out of that,” she said, “and I would just say, ‘Oh, Dan!’”

In August, the couple pledged $75,000 to the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation for an annual varsity basketball scholarship in honor of their grandchildren.

“We wanted to instill in the girls and boys a value to work hard and try, and we thought the scholarship could be an incentive,” Cindy said. “Dan was so excited, just thrilled to do this.”

Musko may be best remembered for transforming the Easter Seal Society of Butler into Lifesteps, a nonprofit service agency that provides programming for children and adults across Western Pennsylvania. He served as CEO and president for 25 years.

“Dan was very dedicated to Lifesteps and to spreading those programs to other counties,” his older brother Dick Musko said. “That dedication was his strongest attribute.”

Under Musko’s leadership and with broad community support, Lifesteps became an independent nonprofit organization in 1994. The agency expanded to become a “10-county health and human services organization with hundreds of staff and volunteers,” Musko wrote in his obituary.

Much of that growth can be attributed to Musko himself, according to Karen Sue Owens, who succeeded him as Lifesteps president and CEO in 2002.

“Dan will be greatly missed. He was an inspiring leader and true friend who was there to provide support while also teaching me a great deal,” she said. “His true legacy was in leading the capital campaign that went beyond board room planning to community outreach, helping to secure over $1 million to begin building the Butler Program Center, and his 25 years of growing programs to support the community.”

Lifesteps Board of Directors Chair Brenda Dare praised Musko for his commitment to those with disabilities.

“Naming Lifesteps as a recipient for memorial gifts speaks to his long-time dedication to the agency’s mission,” she said.

Lifesteps celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023.

Musko’s work was more than a job, George Musko said.

“Dan personally visited the people living in Lifesteps homes in Butler, Beaver, Westmoreland counties,” he said. “He took care to speak with neighbors to assure them that the residents received the best care.”

It was that personal approach that made a difference for Lifesteps clients, as well as its employees, according to Leslie Osche, chairman of the Board of Commissioners for Butler County, who worked with Dan at the agency.

“It was a privilege to work with him,” Osche said. “He was a dear friend, a generous and gentle soul, and a dedicated leader who took his position personally.”

The close relationship the brothers had is one of the memories Dick will cherish. The brothers took summer fishing trips to Canada — trips that included sons, nephews and grandsons, Dick said.

“We were very close for a lot of years,” he said. “For the last few years, the brothers met once a month to share memories. And now we can also remember Dan.”

Dan’s impact extended beyond Butler County, George Musko said.

“Just as he helped so many families, many of the children who were helped at Lifesteps went on to help others,” he said. “In that way, he impacted thousands and thousands of people across the country.”

Despite receiving local, state and national awards, Musko wrote that the most important award was the impact his work had on individuals and families.

“I often said that my paydays were when someone would say to me how much Lifesteps had helped their child, son or daughter, or aging loved one,” he wrote in his obituary. “That sense of purpose sustained my life goals.”