Unkefer

[Jake]

Alright, I'll share.

So about five years ago, Dan was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He had to have some surgeries and chemo, but they "got it" and all was well again.

I had wondered where he was back in February. Then he wasn't at any of the other events this year, either. Well, it turns out the cancer is back, and this time it's not responding to chemo. It is terminal and he is apparently in "self hospice" of some sort. So, he came out to the July VIR event, with a friend of his, in his yellow NSX, to "officially retire" from NASA Mid-Atlantic.

The after-party was pretty emotional and I was supremely glad I had the chance to give him a hug and thank him for everything he taught me over the past couple of years. I think we all remember his stories in the HPDE 1 classroom... about the UPS truck running him down on his motorcycle, something about snap-oversteer in the MR2, the lady who put her Miata in a ditch on purpose to avoid a collision, etc etc.

I am sure we will get updated on how he's doing. When the time comes, if they do a memorial service that's open to friends, I think it would be great to have a huge MM presence. He's touched a lot of our "track lives" for sure.

Sigh. Life's not fair.