MIDLAND, Texas — At-large City Councilman Dan Corrales has passed away at the age of 45, according to the City of Midland.
Dan Corrales was an attorney, father, husband and veteran.
According to his website, Corrales grew up in Midland where he was mostly raised by his grandmother, Oralia "Lillie" Corrales. Lillie was the first ethnic minority elected to the Midland City Council from 1982-1989.
Dan graduated from Midland High and attended Midland College before moving to Brooklyn and attending St. Francis University. There he received a bachelor's degree in business.
He was working as a fire safety director for a property management company in New York City on 9/11, according to his website. He knew some of the firefighters and paramedics killed in the World Trade Center.
Corrales attended Brooklyn Law School where he worked in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office as a paralegal, as a student prosecutor under US Attorney General Loretta Lynch and as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, according to his website.
After his time in law school. which included an advanced international law degree with a focus on sports, Corrales moved back home to Midland where he joined his family business started by his grandmother.
In 2014, Corrales married his wife Michelle. She and Dan co-owned Pristine Organic Dry Cleaners. The couple was raising their son, Elijah, and Michelle's niece, Austin, at the time of Corrales' death.
Corrales had served on the Midland City Council since Jan. 1, 2022. He had recently taken a position with the Midland County District Attorney's Office as the assistant district attorney.
Corrales served on many nonprofits, including Bynum School, Rotary, Lions Club, Meals on Wheels and Midland Community Theatre.
He has interviewed with NewsWest 9 on many occasions covering several subjects including construction, housing expansions, litter, budget and the recent hotel project. He also climbed a water tower helping to inspect the water levels and conditions of the tower back in 2023.
