Daniel J. McMahon Obituary

Daniel J. McMahon

Sea Islands, SC - Daniel J. McMahon, a family doctor who, for more than four decades, cared for patients of every age, first in Western New York and later in the Sea Islands near Charleston, South Carolina, died on March 1, 2026.

Good-natured and even-keeled, Dan enjoyed playing golf and poker with friends, devouring histories, novels and science fiction, and following his beloved Boston Red Sox and Buffalo Bills with all the devotion – and fortitude – both teams require of their fans. He found joy and deep satisfaction as a steady advocate for his many patients, and, above all, reveled in every minute he spent with his wife of 48 years, Betty.

Born November 18, 1947 to Norma McMahon, a homemaker, and her husband, Joseph, a veteran of the Second World War who founded a trucking company, Dan was raised in Buffalo, New York, where he attended St. Aloysius Grammar School, served as an altar boy, played little league baseball and football and learned to golf at Grover Cleveland Golf Course. At Canisius High School, he honored in science, edited the yearbook and made friendships that would last a lifetime.

Dan earned a degree in biology from Boston College before studying medicine at the University of Buffalo, where he befriended two other residents with whom he would one day establish a thriving family medical practice in the city's suburbs.

Together with Betty, whom he met while home from college, Dan settled in Clarence, New York, where he helped raise two boys, feeding their love of sports by building them hockey nets and bat racks, coaching their little league teams and taking them to The Aud to see the Sabres. He also took them on vacations all over the east, often featuring big-league ballparks, pine-ringed lakes or sun-soaked stretches of Atlantic beach.

Later in South Carolina, he worked at an urgent care clinic, kept up his golf game and embarked on numerous overseas adventures with Betty and their close friends. He also spent many hours with his grandkids, playing board games, going to the movies, and battling them in Wiffle ball at the beach.

A kind and dedicated husband, father, doctor and friend, Dan will be missed by all those whose lives he touched.

He is survived by his son Michael McMahon; son, David McMahon and his wife, Sarah Burns; two grandkids, Lyla and Finn McMahon; sister, Sue Coppola; sister-in-law Carolyn Helenbrook and her husband, Doug; nieces and nephews; and the legions of people whom he cared for. He is predeceased by his wife, Betty McMahon.

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