MetaChat - Some very sad news

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12 October 2015

Some very sad news - Danf has died →[More:]At the request of Dan's family, I've been asked to let you know that Dan has lost his battle against the melanoma he was diagnosed with two years ago.

His wife Vicki wrote to me today: Dan passed at home yesterday (Sunday) at 6 a.m. He was surrounded by his favorite women: his daughter Aspen, her partner Marie, his sister Pam, our beloved neighbor Dawn and myself.

I met Dan in New York and just after he retired he and Vicki did their Grand Tour of Europe, when they stayed with me. I will miss him greatly.

post by: Senyar at: 11:41 | 29 comments

I think of him almost every time I come to MetaChat, and have missed him here greatly. I thought he dealt with this difficult diagnosis -- coming so soon after his long awaited retirement! -- with grace, intelligence and dignity. I never met him, Senyar, so would greatly appreciate it if you could tell his family there were people like me who are feeling bereft in his virtual world, too.

posted by bearwife 12 October | 11:57

Vicki asked me to send her the link to this and the Metafilter post, so she will see your lovely words, bearwife.

posted by Senyar 12 October | 12:00

He will be missed. Do we do a dot at MetaChat? Imma do one anyway, because he deserved it.

.

posted by Rock Steady 12 October | 13:10

I didn't know him well at all but he just seemed like an incredibly decent guy. It was nice knowing people like him are out there.

posted by ethylene 12 October | 13:24

Thanks Senyar for posting this. I saw the tributes start pouring in on Facebook last night and have been looking for news of his passing both here and on Metafilter since. I never met Dan, Vicki or Aspen in real life, but Dan and I have had a long off-site correspondence about this, that and the other, and I feel I know them quite well. He has been such a great contributor both here and on MF, and he will be sorely missed. Peace be with you Dan, and to your family as well.

He gets a dot from me as well, Rock Steady.

.

posted by msali 12 October | 13:27

Never met him IRL but he was always a decent and good guy. We will miss you Dan.

posted by arse_hat 12 October | 13:45

I will miss him. He was a great bunny.

.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 12 October | 16:48

This is very sad news. My love to his family.

posted by amro 12 October | 17:16

Dan was vocal aboout his past as a surfer, and knew about my northeasterner's obsession with the sport. When we met, he said if I ever made it to the west coast he'd show me how. Well, if ever do catch a wave, I'll think of you, bro.

posted by jonmc 12 October | 17:18

Ach. How awful.

Vaarwel Dan.

posted by jouke 12 October | 17:58

Such a wonderful person who loved his entire family dearly, plus shared great compassion to so many others here and in real life.....his life should be celebrated because he's a rare type of person who sows goodness that will bloom anew as subsequent seedlings flourish and send out new growth.

I can only wish his family and all of us who he's touched the solace of peace.

Loving hugs to all.

posted by mightshould 12 October | 19:21

!@#$.

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posted by Melismata 12 October | 20:30

This just sucks.

posted by octothorpe 12 October | 21:32

Yeah, this is some serious bullshit right here.
Not least because I wanted to taunt him about baseball.

but in all seriousness, this world was a better place for Dan being in it, and there are few enough people I can say that about wholeheartedly. Much love to his family.

posted by gaspode 12 October | 22:02

Ugh. He was a sweet, smart, thoughtful man with a great sense of humor. I never met him in person but in the past we'd had several email volleys going for a while and he was such a fun, respectful man who was so so so crazy about his wife. His family has my condolences. ♥

posted by iconomy 12 October | 23:06

Oh no. Such a good man. What a loss.

posted by tangerine 13 October | 02:08

So sad. His family are in my thoughts.

posted by bluesapphires 13 October | 06:14

Damn. He was a swell guy with fascinating things to say. This is not fair.

posted by JanetLand 13 October | 07:27

A good dude. Rest in peace.

posted by danostuporstar 13 October | 07:43

Dammit. Every time I came to the site, I alternately cringed and hoped in the event that there might be a Danf update.

I didn't interact with him much, but even so, his contributions made me care about him and wish the best to him and his family in his fight.

I'm so sorry that we've lost him.

posted by Madamina 13 October | 10:12

I've been bracing for this for awhile. Doesn't make it any less sad. At work today, I told a fellow teacher that a friend of mine had died, and that's just how it feels. though we never met in person. He will be missed. He's missed already. I know how Dan loved his wife and daughter. Heartfelt condolences to you both and to all whose lives he touched.

posted by Pips 13 October | 19:50

Damn, how sad. I was just thinking about him today & hoping he was in good spirits at the very least. He felt like a kindred spirit, reasonable & warm.

I'm glad we had a chance to know him if remotely, over traveling electrons.

RIP, Danf.

posted by chewatadistance 13 October | 20:40

He was always so kind to me. Just lovely. He will be missed.

posted by jrossi4r 13 October | 21:47

A singular personality. I will miss him around here.

posted by initapplette 14 October | 13:02

ugh, I'm so sorry for Dan's family's loss. Like others, I never met him in person, yet I felt that he was able to make a very real connection over the interwebs. I felt like I had a sense of who he was as a person, and I felt his love for his wife and daughter in a real sense. Dan's admiration for his grown daughter is something that I used to really connect with, as I'm watching my (not as young as they used to be) daughters grow.

I'm so saddened by this. I'll miss him, too.

posted by richat 15 October | 09:02

posted by SassHat 15 October | 10:35

Here is Danf's obituary, written by Aspen, his daughter.

posted by Senyar 16 October | 14:54

I read in the mefi post that Dans daughter Aspen read this metachat post. I like that.
Her fathers passing was mourned from the US to the UK and the Nl.

posted by jouke 19 October | 12:13

Like most, I never met Dan IRL but I feel like I did. This news is not really surprising I guess, but that doesn't in any way reduce the sadness. He will be greatly missed.

.

posted by dg 26 October | 04:56

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