I feel great sadness to lose such a wonderful colleague, mentor and friend. Dan was a truly kind, compassionate, straight forward, bright individual with a great sense of humor. He loved practical jokes and made me laugh every day. He loved a good argument, especially the ones he won! You never had to worry about where you stood with Dan. He would tell you in a straight forward manner, and he would never hold a grudge. He loved his partner of over 25 years, Delores, who has always been a great spouse loving him unconditionally, but especially at the end, she showed an amazing amount of strength and steadfastness. I know she is devastated by his loss and I hope the good memories give her strength. He loved his cats. He loved technology. He hated parties. He loved everything about Hawaii, including bright Hawaiian shirts! Most of all he loved his humpback whales. He was the first to hear their song and admire their beauty and he worked so hard to understand them. His passion for preserving the environment and his love for nature were contagious and touched all of us who knew him. His legacy will continue and his name will forever be associated with these amazing creatures. When Dan retired, I inherited his office. When I went to move in, I saw that Dan had emptied everything. The only thing left behind was an old sweater behind the door, which he wore when he worked on his research late at night. I never got rid of this sweater because it reminded me of Dan and his influence on me, our Department, our University. As long as I work for SIUE, Dan’s sweater will hang behind my door. Thank you, Dan, for everything you taught me, for your wise advice, for the great laughs, for caring. I will miss you very much…