You may know him as a Christian, because so was Daniel. While he wrote code because it was fun and he was quite good at it, he first and fore-most lived for the Lord.

You may know Daniel as a fervent competitor with a kind heart and a powerfully analytical mind. You may know Daniel for a number of other reasons, and if you didn’t know Daniel then I assure you, if you did, he would have left nothing but an impact of an honest, energetic, intelligent, warm hearted, analytical, yet loving person.

I knew Daniel because of his work in the Ruby community and in the Ruby community in the midwest and specifically Michigan. Last fall I attended GRGivecamp with Daniel. Four months ago, Daniel came and began working with me at Mutually Human Software. Daniel and I worked closely together for about 30 hours a week every week. Every day we’d pair program (or party as Daniel would call it). Almost every day we’d eat lunch together and talk - sometimes about work and sometimes about everything else in life. I never imagined that four months of my life with someone could have such an impact. That’s also the kind of person Daniel was - impactful in all the best ways.

Before I had ever met Daniel personally, my colleague John Hwang had told me that he was the kind of person we wanted to work with, not just the type of developer, but the kind of person. At first I was skeptical, but after I met and began workingw ith Daniel I knew John was right. Daniel was more then just a developer – he was human. He was the kind of spirit and person who anyone would want to build a team around. He was an amazing developer, but even more-so he was an exceptional person. It’s hard to believe that Daniel was only 23 years old.

I will miss you Daniel, as a friend, as a colleague, as a human. May your life go on to impact countless lives. I know you have impacted mine.

P.S. - when you get to heaven be sure to teach everyone Rook, they’ll love it just as much as you did when I introduced it to you. That will forever be a cherished night in my life.