Dan Allen Simmons

My favorite memories about Uncle Dan involve our ongoing Cowboys-Saints wager. Each time our beloved teams played, we were faced with the horror of having to gift something football related to the winner. Sometimes the horror could also be experienced by the victor. For example, Aunt Liz sewed on some hideous lace around the Saints t-shirt collar so tightly, there was no way my head was ever going to fit through that tiny hole! Once I was gifted an COWBOYS t-shirt! I did wear it, and I ended up taking pictures with a Cowboys fan in the produce section of Whole Foods. Over the years, we have both received many terrific and fun gifts. More fun than the gifts was the taunting that lasted year round.
I recall finding a Cowboys helmet poster at a school book fair. My eyes gleamed with a diabolical idea. I wrote, "Saints rule! Cowboys drool!" in black permanent marker on the poster. Then I cut the poster up like a jigsaw puzzle so he would have to put the puzzle together to be insulted! I mailed it off to Uncle Dan and waited. It didn´t take long for me to receive a text which simply stated, "This means war."
I so enjoyed our wager, and playing the Cowboys won´t be the same without Uncle Dan. I think most Saints fans will understand if I also pull for the Cowboys because my Uncle Dan was the best.
Go Cowboys!

My Uncle Dan was a character in all of the best ways! He was that uncle you needed in childhood to let you get away with a little more than you could at home. In my adult years, he became a great and loved friend. He and my Aunt Liz were gracious hosts who always made room for us at their places in Texas, Louisiana, and California. In later years, we greatly enjoyed their trips to the Rockies and were able to reciprocate hosting at our home in Colorado. I'll be expecting little bets from him from Heaven every time Texas Tech plays Texas... I'll just have to owe him when I lose!

Aunt Liz and Uncle Dan always sent me a Christmas letter and photo, which I looked forward to every year. My favorite - in combination of its inventiveness, and later "how" they took the photo - was the in-the-woods portrait soaking in a huge water trough ("cowboy hot-tub"). Now this was before the invention and convenience of iphones/selfies. They donned picture-perfect smiles and cowboy hats. Much later, he described to me how many "takes" they attempted to get the one perfect shot. The previous attempts had Uncle Dan in assorted positions half-in/half-out of the tank. I remember him laughing at his mistakes.

My Uncle Dan was a character in all of the best ways! He was that uncle you needed in childhood to let you get away with a little more than you could at home. In my adult years, he became a great and loved friend. He and my Aunt Liz were gracious hosts who always made room for us at their places in Texas, Louisiana, and California. In later years, we greatly enjoyed their trips to the Rockies and were able to reciprocate hosting at our home in Colorado. I'll be expecting little bets from him from Heaven every time Texas Tech plays Texas... I'll just have to owe him when I lose!