Daniel ROMAIN Obituary (2021) – Liberty Lake, WA

(August 1956 – May 2021)

The world lost a brilliant, generous, loving man on May 29, 2021. Dan passed away peacefully at home in his wife’s arms with his family at his side after a heroic 2½ year battle with metastatic melanoma. He was a free spirit who was full of life with a big heart who continued to fight till the end.

Born and raised in Spokane, the youngest boy of five adopted children to Julius and Rose “Marie” Romain. Dan graduated from Gonzaga Prep in 1974, then went on to attend the University of Washington where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics in 1979 and was awarded into the Omicron Delta Epsilon Honor Society. Upon graduation, he started his insurance career at the Aetna in Underwriting and Marketing.

Dan met his wife, Lori, in Seattle in the fall of 1982. That night, he told his roommate, Ed; “I’m going to marry that girl.” Their first two dates were company parties, so it was doomed from the start, but it was meant to be as Dan asked Lori to marry him a year later. The two had a lot in common as they both worked in insurance, they enjoyed fishing together, and Lori let Dan do what he wanted. Of course, it didn’t hurt that she was a Husky fan. In 1984, Dan and Lori were married and had 37+ wonderful years together raising their 2 delightful children, fishing, cheering at Husky games (Dan wearing his purple Sombrero) building and landscaping their homes and traveling (most recently to Quebec, Greece, Rome & Venice). Dan adored his children and always tried to make their life fun; from parties with piñatas or clowns and bins for sliding the kids down the stairs when they were young to “summer rules,” as Dan called it, when they were older. He loved to watch their games; from chess matches in the early years to baseball, soccer, and football later as Brian was on the Jesuit football team and Dani was a cheerleader. He was also proud of their accomplishments, no matter how small.

Dan didn’t live for work, but he lived and worked for his family which many times included employees, partners, and close friends. He loved helping the people and making work fun. He was famous for his Cinco de Mayo parties and the big spreads he cooked for breakfast, lunches, and special occasions. He was a gracious host and always ready to help with anything from snow blowing a neighbor’s yard to helping build a deck for a friend. As an adventurist in his early years, he enjoyed; skydiving, Taekwondo “black belt”, zip lining, rock repelling, whitewater river rafting, parasailing, jet skiing, fly fishing, and hunting. He also loved history, the food channel, and sports.

Later in life, Dan loved putzing in the yard and tinkering and fixing things. He could have had a career in landscaping rather than insurance with how beautiful his yard always was. Never a day went by when people didn’t stop to take a picture or ask him for his card. Despite these interests, Dan loved the water and was looking forward to spending time fishing on his new boat and traveling with Lori in his RV during retirement. It was his dream to live in a sailboat and sail it to unknown faraway places, but Dan’s life was all about steering the ship. He just needed to make certain that everyone was steering in the same direction.

Dan left the Aetna to become an independent agent shortly after he and Lori married. After several successful years in Seattle which included a lot of fishing and Husky games, his ventures brought him to an agency in southwest Washington where he and Lori raised their children before moving to Portland in 2003. His contribution to the Portland agency was one of Dan’s greatest accomplishments and one that he enjoyed in the process. Dan was a big picture guy, always learning and trying new things to make it better. He enjoyed sharing his knowledge and passions. It was all about the people to him. He tried retirement once, but he clearly wasn’t ready since he spent his time re-landscaping the backyard, writing a book (The Quaker State Affair) and starting his own consulting company. In 2013, Dan joined Moloney + O’Neill, bringing him back to Spokane to build a home in Liberty Lake. After M+O sold to Alliant, Dan opened a service center and led the West operations all the while working Mergers and Acquisitions which was his passion.

Dan is survived by his loving wife, Lori, of 37 years and his two wonderful children, Danielle “Dani” Marie and Brian Daniel Romain along with three sisters, Ann (Denny) Lynch, Judy (Ron) Brown and Sue Spalding plus in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and a host of long-time friends. He was preceded in death by both of his parents and his older brother, Jim. The family would like to thank his doctors and staff at CCNW and Hospice of Spokane for their compassionate care in his last days.

Dan touched so many lives in ways that cannot be measured. He was looked up to and loved by his family, friends, children’s friends, nieces, nephews, brother in-laws, and sisters alike. He was always willing to help those in need without question. He will forever be remembered for his sense of humor and kind heart. No doubt, Dan’s legacy will live on forever in his daughter, Dani, who excels in sales like her dad, and his son, Brian, who is following his footsteps into Mergers and Acquisitions. There has been a void in so many of us since Dan left and he will surely be missed for a long time to come, but Dan would not want people to be sad as that was not his way. He would want people to party and raise a drink to him. So as Dan used to say, “Fish On!”. A celebration of life will be held in Dan’s honor in Spokane, at our home, set for July 24th and at Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle on August 7th. He would love for you to attend one or both. Please RSVP [email protected] Further details provided at www.pnwcremation.com.