Dan Moran was an amazing husband, dad, son, brother, and friend to many. He was born into a wonderful, close-knit family and later went on to have his own. Dan was an amazing husband to Jenn, his wife of 24 years, and dad to their two daughters, Taylor (24) and Madyson (21). Absolutely nothing was more important to Dan than his girls. If not at the firehouse, he enjoyed attending all his daughters’ activities. Anything his girls were involved in, he was involved in. Family was life to Dan.

Dan was a firefighter/paramedic with West Metro Fire Rescue for 18 years. He loved his career, every aspect of it—fighting fires, tending to a car accident or a patient with a health concern—he enjoyed it all. Any problem, whether considered big or small, he was there and treated it as big. He knew that, for whoever was involved, it was in fact big.

Unfortunately, a big day came for Dan. He was diagnosed with job-related leukemia in June 2017 and passed away in his home with family surrounding him on February 7, 2020. He fought a very tough battle for more than two-and-a-half years. During this time, Dan never complained and often said, “It could be worse.” In true Dan style, he never stopped joking, was positive, stayed strong, and was very encouraging to others. Dan was an inspiration to all, including the nurses and doctors who treated him.

Along with being a firefighter, Dan also owned a screen-printing business. He enjoyed the challenge of assisting customers with creating artwork for shirt designs and was proud of his finished product. Dan often did work for schools in our area. He liked that, while working a business to earn extra money for his family, he was in turn helping the schools earn money, as he gave back a percentage of the profits to the school. He really liked meeting new people through this business and treasured many of those relationships. Interacting with people was part of who he was.

Traveling to Australia as a foreign exchange student as a senior in high school was a highlight of Dan’s life. He lived in Sydney for six months with an amazing family. Friends were very special to Dan, and many of his closest friendships were the ones he created while abroad. Dan planned to take Jenn, Taylor, and Madyson to Australia. This had not yet happened, and now his three girls will be taking him to Australia.