Memories
John Buckheit
Dan has been one of my closest friends going back to our college days at U-Conn in the late 70’s. One of the traditions we had back then was that at the end of each Spring semester a group of us would take a “low budget” camping or fishing trip somewhere in New England. About 20 or so years ago a group 4-5 of us restarted this tradition, and we’ve been able to get together annually for a 3-day Springtime golf trip almost without fail for the past 20+ years. With all of us former U-Conn guys being based on the East Coast and Dan being in Iowa, it was typically the only time we would get to see him each year. We always had a great, great time together……with Dan’s sense of humor and fun-loving personality being a critical ingredient. The minute we got together the jokes at each other’s expense would start flying along with bad puns and increasingly exaggerated stories about our college years or antics during prior year trips.
What you saw with Dan was always exactly who he was --- funny, caring, helpful and someone who just loved being around people. He was the exact same person with his family, his students, his work colleagues and his friends. Totally genuine in everything he did.
Dan also had an uncanny ability to use his whacky sense of humor as a tool to help lift people up when they were feeling down. In my case, about two years ago I was home for six weeks straight recovering from a major back surgery which limited me to bedrest for 99% of my day. Although all my friends and family were great in terms of supporting me during this period, the most difficult time for me would be weekday mornings…. after my wife would leave for work and I was home alone lying on a giant air mattress in our family room…. reading books, magazines and watching way too many repeated stories on “Sports Center”. Spring semester had just ended at Coe and Dan was home babysitting his then new born grandson Henry (who he absolutely adored). During those first couple weeks after my surgery, he would make it a point to call me at home on those weekday mornings 2-3 times every week. We would banter back and forth for a good 30 minutes…. the usual mix of bad jokes, bad puns and commiserating about which or our favorite teams was having a worse year, my Phillies or his Cincinnati Reds. Those weekday morning calls were a big pick-me-up for me at a time when everybody else was busy at work and my six-week recovery period felt like it would drag on forever. Something I will definitely always remember when I think about Dan.
He will be hugely missed by all of us.
Dan has been one of my closest friends going back to our college days at U-Conn in the late 70’s. One of the traditions we had back then was that at the end of each Spring semester a group of us would take a “low budget” camping or fishing trip somewhere in New England. About 20 or so years ago a group 4-5 of us restarted this tradition, and we’ve been able to get together annually for a 3-day Springtime golf trip almost without fail for the past 20+ years. With all of us former U-Conn guys being based on the East Coast and Dan being in Iowa, it was typically the only time we would get to see him each year. We always had a great, great time together……with Dan’s sense of humor and fun-loving personality being a critical ingredient. The minute we got together the jokes at each other’s expense would start flying along with bad puns and increasingly exaggerated stories about our college years or antics during prior year trips.
What you saw with Dan was always exactly who he was --- funny, caring, helpful and someone who just loved being around people. He was the exact same person with his family, his students, his work colleagues and his friends. Totally genuine in everything he did.
Dan also had an uncanny ability to use his whacky sense of humor as a tool to help lift people up when they were feeling down. In my case, about two years ago I was home for six weeks straight recovering from a major back surgery which limited me to bedrest for 99% of my day. Although all my friends and family were great in terms of supporting me during this period, the most difficult time for me would be weekday mornings…. after my wife would leave for work and I was home alone lying on a giant air mattress in our family room…. reading books, magazines and watching way too many repeated stories on “Sports Center”. Spring semester had just ended at Coe and Dan was home babysitting his then new born grandson Henry (who he absolutely adored). During those first couple weeks after my surgery, he would make it a point to call me at home on those weekday mornings 2-3 times every week. We would banter back and forth for a good 30 minutes…. the usual mix of bad jokes, bad puns and commiserating about which or our favorite teams was having a worse year, my Phillies or his Cincinnati Reds. Those weekday morning calls were a big pick-me-up for me at a time when everybody else was busy at work and my six-week recovery period felt like it would drag on forever. Something I will definitely always remember when I think about Dan.
He will be hugely missed by all of us.