Being Dan's sister was always a pleasant and rewarding part of my life, especially as we grew up, left the bickering and fighting of siblings behind and found a dear friendship between us. He was three years younger than I so we shared a lot of things in our childhood. I remember being anxious that he learn to read so that we could read comic books with each of us taking a character and reading the dialogue.
Janet, Dan's Sister, 9 November 2003
We shared a bedroom and bunk beds when we were small, enjoyed many a family vacation together, and he was always a brother I was proud of.
Dan was born in Chicago, IL and lived here his whole life. He never married and lived at home. He was a blessing to my mother, especially through her latter years.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
My mom had polio as a child and as she aged the common symptoms of her ailment (difficulty walking, pain, etc.) along with the added problems caused by her weight, diabetes, and other aging difficulties made her more and more unable to get around. My brother was there for her, shopping, visiting her in the hospital daily when she was there, cleaning up after accidents she had.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
This, along with working was his life and he did it lovingly and with very little complaining, save the infrequent frustrations he would share with me on the phone, just to unload a bit.
Dan loved fishing (we learned to fish with my father on most every vacation we had as a family) and would go alone many times to some local lake to sit and fish.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
I went with him once. He, just like my father, never caught the "big ones" but enjoyed fishing just the same. I imagine them both in Heaven at some beautiful lake like one sees on the fishing shows on television, catching the fish they always just missed here on Earth.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
In the last few years, Dan found great enjoyment in playing pool. He didn't drink but, since there aren't many places except bars that have pool tables, he would spend many an evening at Farragut's, a nice local establishment, honing his skill till, they tell me, he was rarely beaten. I think it is a blessing to find something one is good at, and Dan found that at the pool table. I was amazed after he died to meet so many of his friends from the bar who truly considered him a friend.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
They said he was a good friend, a decent person, an intelligent man to talk with and a formidible pool player. One friend said that if he DID win a pool game against Dan, it was enough to give him a "high" for a whole week. :)
My brother was a loving and caring man. Even the less than pleasant relatives were "still family", as he'd say, and he treated them with love and respect.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
When I had some rough spots in my life, he was there to listen, to sympathize and to pray with me and for me. We occasionally would meet for dinner and enjoy each other's company. Our family who all are still living here in Chicago, had either a birthday or a holiday to gather together for at least once a month, so we were all very close.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
After my mom died, my three children still wanted to "have Christmas at Grandma's" and he was kind to get everything ready and have us over most every year. Something special about Dan was the gifts he would give. He always said that a gift should be nicer than what one would buy for oneself and went out of his way to find that "just right" present.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
A few weeks before he died, he was struggling at his relatively new job to make the phone sales expected of him. They had warned him that if things didn't improve he might be let go. He knew how to keep his job.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
He sold insurance and knew that most of the others who had many sales were doing so by selling individual policies instead of family policies, which made the count higher but was not the most convenient or cost-effective for the customers, and was certainly not what the company he worked for approved of. Still, as he told me over the phone, he couldn't see himself going that route and in the end, a few weeks before he died, he was let go from his job.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
Dan had some physical ailments but never saw himself as being ill. I suggested after he lost his last job that maybe he might be qualified to apply for disability, as he found it difficult to get around much without losing his breath (a result of a very weakened heart). He told me, "I'm not disabled. I can work." I think most people would opt for the easy way out, but he didn't.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
He had been in the hospital almost two weeks when he passed away. They were considering sending him home, but the doctors had suggested that a heart transplant might be in order. Well, he never got a new heart because the Lord took him home. But a better heart than my brother, Dan, had, I don't think you could find. I will miss him. He was a good friend and a loving brother to me, uncle to my three children, and great-uncle to my two grandsons.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
Dan had a deep faith in God. We were brought up in a Christian home. He accepted Jesus as his Saviour and Lord of his life when he was a teenager. He used to attend church every Sunday and sung in the church choir. After the church he attended moved outside the city to a new location, he stopped attending church because he didn't have a car at that time. It had been many years that he had not been in church. But he lived his faith daily and trusted God for all things.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
Dan got a computer last year, particularly to help him in searching for a job. He also found many friends in the chat rooms, some of whom he even met in person. For me one of the problems with making friends online is that all of a sudden they can disappear and we are left wondering if they are ok or what happened to them. For that reason I did my best to find e-mail addresses and some phone numbers he had to let his friends online know of his passing.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
I want to thank each of you for what you meant to my brother and for the kind expressions of friendship some of you have shared with me. And it is for you that I have created this memorial to Dan.
Janet, Dan's Sister (cont.), 9 November 2003
fabian aviles
he was a 49 whin he dide one day befor his B. day.In the hospital they did not let me go and see him I was sade and missing my Uncle .when I hare thet he dide I was missing him. He was a good uncle he was nice to me I will missing
HE WAS A GOOD UNCLE.............
I LOVE MY UNCELE DAN.............
Fabian, Janet's Godson, 16 November 2003
The wonderful thing about being "Online" friends is .. you talk heart to heart and soul to soul. In five minutes you can learn more about an online friend that you could in a lifetime meeting someone in person.
Ceramicsue, 22 March 2004
Online friends don't have the 'appearance' bagage to deal with .. You are accepted for 'who' you are not 'what' you look like. This gives even the most shy and introverted people a chance to make friends. It starts out usually in a chat room ... but as your trust grows you share personal information and pictures of yourself ... !!
ceramicsue (cont.), 22 March 2004
Dan was one of these such friends .. he was a good listener, he gave wonderful advice and he made you laugh when you were feeling down ... He will truly be missed by me and all his 'online' friends. I hope there are computers in heaven !
ceramicsue (cont.), 22 March 2004