Daniel Duane Strawn

He is survived by his wife Brittany Strawn, and his children Kaiden and Destiny. He is also survived by his grandfather Duane Strawn, father Michael Strawn (Betsy) mother Vicki Snyder (Greg), sisters Alisha Morris, Christine Davis (Zach), brother David Strawn, brother-in-law Kurt Koklich and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Daniel considered every friend to be part of his family, so his extended network of family is very large.

Daniel is a Colorado native, born in Denver at St. Joseph’s hospital and raised in and around Parker, Colorado. He attended Ponderosa High School and received his diploma from Colorado’s Finest School of Choice in Englewood. He attended Metro State University and graduated with a degree in Aerospace Systems Engineering. He then continued his education and attained a Master’s Degree in Systems Engineering from Colorado State University. He was passionate about his work in the aerospace industry. He worked with United Launch Alliance for 6 years, Sierra Space for 3 years and most recently SciTech.

Daniel loved the outdoors, as a child, he was a Boy Scout and was part of a Colorado Wilderness Kids group. Hiking and camping with his mom Vicki and sister Alisha was a favorite activity, they would backpack up to Ouzel Falls inside Rocky Mountain National Park, they would hike to the falls and spend several days there camping, enjoying the water and the mountains.

Dan’s sister, Alisha, said she remembers Dan always being up for an adventure when he was a kid, well that never changed. Daniel was always ready for the next adventure, he had no fear, and he never really saw obstacles, he just saw the opportunity and went for it! In 2016, Daniel and Britt along with Mary Lou, Curt McQueen and his brother Scott McQueen chartered a sailboat for a 10-day sailing trip in the British Virgin Islands. They chose the BVI because that was where his Grandfather Duane was, his commitment to family being so strong, considering another destination just wasn’t an option. It was a great adventure, sailing each day to a new island, anchoring overnight, visiting with Grand Dad. It was a wonderful adventure. And even though Curt was the captain on this voyage, Dan was our auto pilot, always ready to take the wheel and sail us on to the next port. This was such a great adventure that we all wanted to go on another trip, another boat, another destination and we even talked about planning this for 2026, however Dan was ready to go as soon as it was mentioned, he was always ready to go.

Daniel did a lot of traveling on his adventures. Middle East, British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Mexico, Brigantine Island and a long list of other domestic places.

Daniel was a snowboarder too, there has been an annual trip to Pagosa Springs with family and friends from Atlanta for many years now, it’s quite the crew. His brother David knows every inch of the Wolf Creek ski area and he acts as guide and host. For Daniel, David and Kaiden to spend time boarding together made Daniel happy. With Mike and Betsy living so close there was always a family dinner planned and at least one day with the crew at the Hot Springs is a required part of the trip.

Daniel loved and was passionate about so many things, he loved the water. Taking the surf boat out for “Sunday Morning Services” with their partners Jessup and Jess McQueen, family and friends was a seasonal highlight, they would go as often as they could. He also created the Full Moon surf club so you would find them all on the boat surfing under the light of the moon, the multi-colored LED lights on the boat and plenty of tunes to surf by. The annual lake trips with family and friends are always anticipated with excitement, the family sets the dates a year in advance so the entire Village can be there. Days on the water and nights by the fire were always favorite activities and now they are precious memories. He was also PADI certified for scuba diving, he and Britt completed their open water dives during a trip to Cozumel in 2023. He loved the beach and enjoyed a good sunset, if water was involved, he wanted to be part of it.

Recently, he perfected another passion, baking sour dough pretzels from scratch. When his friends Steve and Jenny gifted him with some of Jenny’s sour dough starter, he began to bake bread, loaves of beautiful bread, and then pretzels, and pretzel hot dog buns, and pretzel bites. Soon after he had perfected his recipes, he was selling them through Facebook Market Place.

Daniel was also tenacious; he stayed with things until they were finished. His education and work to complete his degrees took a long time but he stuck with it until he completed his Masters degree in 2020. He was also studying Spanish, after the trip to Costa Rica, he decided he needed to learn Spanish. He was learning with an app called Duolingo, if any of you are familiar with the app, it records how many days in a row you complete your course work, they call it a streak. Dan was on a streak for 1511 straight days of completing a lesson, that’s over four years of spending time each day to learn Spanish. I’d say that’s tenacious.

Daniel loved music, especially live music, Red Rocks was a favorite venue. He and Britt with their friends would take in as many performances in the summer as they could. Some of the shows they attended as annual events, never wanting to miss a good show.

Daniel was a big man, in stature sure, but that was not really what made him big. His heart and the way he treated people made him a big man. He was patient and kind and never met a stranger. He valued every relationship and really did consider his friends to be his family too. I’ve heard Britt say what a patient husband he was, he always answered “yes dear” even when she was admittedly being a little irrational. And like a big teddy bear, he would never hurt a fly. All the animals knew this instinctively. He loved his bull dogs, Betty and Bubbles, and their cat Harry. He was as gentle with them as he was with people, and everyone loved him because of it.

Daniel was all these things, an adventurer, a world traveler, kind and patient, tenacious and passionate. He was a good husband and a father, a loyal friend, a brother, a son and a grandson. He wouldn’t pass on an opportunity for adventure, he didn’t wait to explore a new passion or follow his dreams. He didn’t wait to get involved in something new, he fearlessly jumped in. If there are any lessons to be learned from this, perhaps it is to don’t wait. Don’t wait to start something new, start today, do not wait to follow your passions start now. Don’t wait to tell your family and your friends how much you love them and don’t wait to take care of yourself, take care of your health because none of us knows how much time we have, tomorrow is not promised, so don’t wait.

A memorial service for Daniel will be held Friday, June 20, 2025 at 1:00 PM at Olinger Andrews Caldwell Gibson C, 407 Jerry Street, Castle Rock, CO 80104.

Contributions in Daniel's memory may be made to 4 Paws 4 Life Rescue, 3648 N Perry Park Rd, Sedalia, CO 80135, https://4p4l.org/donate/.