Daniel Healy Potochnik

He was despondent after his long-time girlfriend (and roommate) broke up with him at the end of February. Dan was also a couple of months into a job search after graduating from CU/Boulder with a BA in Communications in December — an inherently depressing process.

Either Ken and/or I have been out here in Colorado since the end of February when Danny made the first serious attempt on his life. He needed a job, a place to live, effective interventions, and a reason to live.

We knew he was still suicidal but lacked the skill or forcefulness to get him appropriate care. We certainly tried. In retrospect, he was beyond determined to end things.

Dan’s note to us said in part, “incessant overthinking, worrying, restlessness, and doubt have plagued me my entire life. I just don’t want to do it anymore.”

In addition to being tormented, Danny was funny, sensitive, and compassionate. He had an abiding love of the wilderness which shows up in his extraordinary photos of Western landscapes (insta: @solodolodan).

Danny grew up in Newton, Mass. and graduated from Newton South in 2014. Though incredibly bright, Danny struggled academically and unfortunately internalized a sense of failure which is part of why he was thrilled to be admitted to CU/Boulder. Once in Colorado, it was clear that Danny belonged out West. He traveled and camped extensively and I believe felt at home there in a way he never had in New England.

After an initial rough start to college, Dan took five years off and worked full time as a security guard. He resumed his coursework somewhat recently and excelled. He made the Dean’s list and impressed many of his teachers with the clarity of his thinking and his skillful writing. We were so proud of him.

No matter what was going on with classes, Danny always had a vibrant circle of friends. People were drawn to him. He was known to be loyal, down to earth, at times hilarious, and thoughtful.

During the Brady years, Dan was a die-hard Patriots fan. He enjoyed the Colorado Buffs too.

Dan was off-the-charts coordinated from the get-go. Just one example: he skipped crawling and was running like a little demon at nine months. His natural athleticism showed up first in skateboarding, which he really loved, and later in snowboarding. In the last several years, he’d become an avid fly fisherman.

He was a certified EMT and though never officially employed as one, carried around medical gear in his car, just in case. He read extensively about accidents in the wilderness, particularly in the national parks.

Danny loved Stephen King and may own copies of every book he ever wrote. He ended his note to us with a Stephen King quote. “Monsters are real. Ghosts are too. They live inside of us and sometimes, they win.”

To say that he will be missed is to feel the inadequacy of language.

Dan is survived by his parents, Dee Mallon and Ken Potochnik, by his brother, Cary, and by his Aunts Kathy Bartone and Mary McKillop, Uncles Steve Potochnik, Bruce Bartone, and Billy Mallon, by his cousins Patrick, Julian, and Em, and by his former girlfriend, Ella Bronaugh.