Daniel Charles McLaughlin

Daniel Charles McLaughlin
Passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at home on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at the age of 69.
Predeceased by his parents, Alfred & Irene McLaughlin. Survived by his wife Heather Verplank [Packer] McLaughlin; two beautiful children, Lindsay (Jonathan) & Luke (Jenna); stepson, Ryon C. (Yuka) Morrin; siblings, Kevin (Kim), Brian, Ann (Greg) Konzel; nieces and nephews, Amanda, Mark, Matthew (Abigail), Michael, Alexandra (Matthew); great niece and nephew, Brooke Irene & Ezekiel; and many dear friends from over the years and church family.
Dan was born April 30, 1955 in Rochester, NY, into a loving, kind, accepting, sharing and generous family. He was highly influenced by their Irish roots.
The family moved to Auburn, NY where Dan was raised. Dan attended St. Alphonsus elementary school and Mount Carmel High School before graduating from Auburn High School in 1973.
Throughout Dan's life he enjoyed multiple interests, hobbies, sports and activities. Dan was passionate about tennis. He was on the Auburn, NY High School Team. Dan continued his education at Auburn Community College now named Cayuga County Community College. During his studies at the community college Dan was accepted into the academic National Honor Fraternity of the Junior college named Phi Theta Kappa on March 16th, 1975. He also continued his passion for tennis and was a member of the Auburn/Cayuga Community College Tennis Team.
Dan then transferred to SUNY Oswego to pursue a Bachelors in Psychology and continuing on to graduate school earning a Masters in Psychology including academic honors and was just six credits short from getting his PhD. Dan was a humble man and many might not know that while attending SUNY Oswego during graduate school he was given the academic award for the best graduate Master Thesis of the Psychology Department and earned a Certificate of Advanced Study in School Psychology which included an additional sixty semester hour program at SUNY Oswego. Moreover, Dan was involved in professional organizations throughout his career such as becoming a member of the Society of Personality Assessment in 1994.
Dan then went on to become a school psychologist in the Hilton Central School District. After 30 years with the district, he retired.
Dan was very involved in his church community. He belonged to St. Luke's Episcopal Church where he met his wife, Heather. They married on October 3, 2020. After moving to North Chili, they started going to Grace Church Scottsville where their marriage was blessed on October 3, 2021. Dan took his roles in the church seriously and was an church service usher, junior warden, served as the Clerk of the Vestry and most recently over the past year, Dan was a member of the Rochester Episcopal Diocese Transition Team which organized the logistics of hiring a new Bishop including planning the ordination celebration of Bishop Kara Wagner Sherer.
In addition, Dan had a few favorite hobbies.
Dan was a long-time, self-taught guitar player and collector. In fact, he shared his love of guitars with many of his friends and family members, including helping teach his friends and brother Kevin learn how to tune and play the guitar. In addition, Dan wrote much of his own music including a beautiful guitar song for Heather their second week of dating in October of 2018.
Dan was also a lover of music. He was a huge fan of Jimmy Buffett and fortunately due to the generosity of a friend from his "Barbers Crew" he was able to attend a Jimmy Buffet concert. Also, Dan really liked the singer, songwriter, and author Cat Stevens and even had a tattoo on his arm from one of his published books titled "Teaser and the Firecat." In the last few months of Dan's life, his brother, Kevin would spend mornings or afternoons with Dan while his wife worked at a part-time job, and they would enjoy each other's company talking about music, tuning and playing guitars.
Dan also loved reading; his favorite genre was fantasy, and most afternoons over the last year during his health struggles; his joy of reading helped him get through difficult days. In fact, he had received a Barnes and Noble gift card from his mother in law and father in law for his Birthday last April; so only three weeks ago, although struggling with his health, he was able to find strength and determination with the support of his new hand – carved, wooden Irish cane (made in Ireland) to walk across the entire Barnes and Noble Pittsford, (which happens to be the largest franchise bookstore store in Monroe County); and he used his gift card to purchase a new book.
In addition to Dan enjoying reading, he was a huge Boston Red Sox and Buffalo Bills fan! He even positively influenced his wife, Heather, to become a fan of the Boston Red Sox! Heather would frequently watch baseball and football games with Dan including Sunday night football which was considered "pizza night" and Heather would order pizza from their favorite Italian restaurant named "Pizza 151" in the hamlet of North Chili, NY. Dan also enjoyed watching baseball, football and golf with his mother, brothers, sister, brother in law, sister in law, children, nieces and nephews when they gathered at the McLaughlin Christmas celebration, family dinners, birthday parties and special occasions.
Dan also liked movies and most recently enjoyed watching "Top Gun II" during a special surprise visit from his son, Luke at the end of this past April (2024).
Dan really enjoyed complex (fantasy/story related) board games and frequently met up with a group of guy friends at the Rooster Restaurant in Brockport or his friends homes on the weekend or week nights to play a few hours and socialize.
Dan also loved playing video games including the video golf game at Barbers in Brockport, NY!
Furthermore, Dan loved cooking and it was not "microwave cooking", but real "authentic cooking" including exactly following the recipe, or what you call the "homemade foods" type of cooking! He liked to cook for his children, Lindsay and Luke when they were growing up and when he married Heather she loved his fancy and special meals – such as homemade "Risotto" and "Seafood Casserole", and especially his famous homemade Chili that won first place in a local "Chili Cook Off" cooking competition. Also, Dan always waited for Heather to arrive home to eat dinner since she typically needed to work until 8 or 9 pm at night. Dan would keep dinner warm and wait to eat with her including nightly dinner prayers.
Lastly, Dan always put his children, wife, family, friends, neighbors and community members first. Dan was a kind, humble, quiet yet reflective, wise, intelligent, caring, accepting, spiritual, empathetic listener that always kept a positive attitude and made a positive impact on his wife, children, family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and community members. Dan will be very missed but never forgotten. Dan is now at peace, and his soul and spirit remain through our mutual love for each other.
Dan's Celebration of Life will be held, Saturday, August 3, 2024, at 1PM at Grace Church Scottsville (9 Browns Ave. Scottsville, NY 14546) including a collaborative service between Priest Johnnie Ross and Priest Krista Cameron. Please also join the family after the church service at an outdoor reception on the lawn between Grace Church and the Union Presbyterian Church (note – if inclement weather occurs then the reception will take place at the next door Union Presbyterian Church which provides more indoor space.)
Donations may be made to St. Luke's Episcopal Church (14 State St, Brockport, NY 14420) or Grace Episcopal Church Scottsville (9 Browns Ave. Scottsville, NY 14546). A GoFundMe and additional fundraisers to help the family financially.