Greetings friends,

One year ago, in the early hours of Saturday morning, Dan left for his final journey to the Celestial Ballroom.  He was resting peacefully, listening to Sarah’s gentle voice speaking for us all, telling him he was loved, so deeply loved, and it was ok to let go.  

Dan’s illness was quick and merciless, and he remained hopeful until the moment when it was time to embrace the time he had left.  He filled every moment with joy, a sardonic flick of the hand, and his irrepressible humor and lust for life.  Dan squeezed in Thanksgiving, a meal at each of his favorite Seattle haunts, and Christmas in under five days. We put the tree up and decked out his house in every holiday tchotchkes he had.  

You all know that Dan loved the holidays.  One of his favorite events of the year was hosting the holiday party for his friends and colleagues at Seattle Country Day.  He hosted it in his home up until the moment the community and Dan’s extravagant planning required a change of venue to something a little bigger.

Dan was hard to contain.  In life and his death.  He lived each moment to the fullest.  Each and every moment.  It was a gift to be a part of Dan’s complex, layered and rich world of people, places, and feasts.

Grief has taken many twists and turns for us over the last year.  We miss him in the little moments - needing advice on a recipe or cook-time while hosting a dinner party or just cooking at home; planning a trip together, looking for a recommendation for the best restaurant…pretty much anywhere in the world.  A call to share dismay overt the state of the world and and his fabulous and relieving sardonic humor that helped put things in perspective.  Walking through Trader Joe’s, or a flower display in a grocery store, a familiar coffee shop, or the perfect cocktail napkin for the next event.  A moment at work where you could use his advice, or to talk through a complication with a friend or loved one. 

These moments of missing Dan are also the most wonderful reminders of how preset he really is.  Leave it to Dan to shuffle off his mortal coil in the middle of holidays, thereby guaranteeing he’ll be present in all of our minds every year.  And what a gift to know he’ll always be there, however faintly in the background, as we give thanks and celebrate a new year.

We encourage you to join us in celebrating Dan by doing what he did best - showering loved ones with love and light.  Dan believed and lived the idea that the little things count the most.  So, go ahead, hang that extra garland, add a little more zhuzh to your holiday decorations, light the extra scented balsam candle, and put tall white tapers in your candle stick holders.  Dress up for dinner.  Put a little bouquet of flowers on your bedside table (and on the bedside table of your guests) and a big arrangement on your kitchen table.  Have a glass of Rombauer at a haughty hotel bar.  Do these things, and any other, with the people you love.  Relish those moments.

Hold your loved ones close, and look to the stars to catch a glimpse of our friend. 

Kate, Sarah and Will