He was a beloved member of his family and known around town as “Hawaiian Shirt Dan”. He always had a smile for any community member and was seen as a calming, yet motivating force. Dan was known to love good music, vegan food, cannabis, his family, friends, animals, nature, and would always “find a way to smoke some pot.”
I was blessed to be an acquaintance of Dan and had known him from the music industry. He actually booked a gig I sang at. It was a 420 season party, if my memory serves correct. I could be wrong, but I’m sure I had bronchitis, and although Traemon McCabe and Nate Ward were on point instrumentally, my singing was off-game. I might have sounded a bit like a bullfrog. Yet, Dan cheered the band on, especially during our cover of “Fight For Your Right” by the Beastie Boys.
Dan was always fun to be around; and I’ll be honest, I might have had just a little crush on him. He had a way of making you feel comfortable no matter how uncomfortable the situation was.
He also had a vast amount of cannabis knowledge that he was more than willing to share.
Before they started using cannabis, Dan and his sister Cassie were both familiar with the benefits of it through familial ties. As a matter of fact, some of their first times consuming flower were definitely a “family affair.”
After a lifetime of sharing a living space together, Dan decided to set off on a journey to pursue his higher education and career in the Cannabis Industry (CI). Logically, Cassie followed and they became roommates again. Dan started building a cannabis and marketing network immediately upon landing here, and later Dan helped Cassie get her first job in the CI at the Haberdashery. Together with the kind of bond only the fondest of siblings have, they pushed one another forward until they were both integral members of the Pueblo cannabis community and CI.
Dan is deeply missed by his family and friends, he is one that left a legacy of laughter and had a significant impact on the CI. Whether you know it or not, if you’ve ever used Weed Maps or Cannapages, shopped at Marisol Therapeutics, or the Haberdashery, Dan might have impacted your life too. And for all of us, he will never be forgotten.
