Daniel Lee Spigarelli passed away on November 3, 2017. Dan was born in Lansing, Michigan on September 17, 1969. In 1970, his family moved to Lagrange Highlands, Illinois where Dan attended Highlands Elementary & Middle Schools. In those years, Dan was a talented Little League baseball player and he became an enthusiastic fisherman and hunter. In 1982, the family moved to Bemidji, Minnesota where Dan attended Bemidji Middle & High Schools. In 1996, he graduated from Bemidji State University (B.S.in Psychology). During those years in N. Minnesota, Dan developed a strong passion for trout fishing and downhill skiing, which brought him to Colorado. In 1986, Dan spent a brief time living in Germany. He also enjoyed his travels to Costa Rica and Mexico.
After his college graduation, Dan worked first in Minnesota and then Florida in various positions caring for disabled. In 2003, Dan moved to Colorado Springs where he made his home for 14 years. For 13 years, Dan worked at the Residential Colorado School for Deaf & Blind as a Health Care Technician/Dormitory Supervisor, mainly with the blind students.
Dan never married and had no children, but thought of his blind students as family! Dan is survived by his parents, Steven A. and A. Elizabeth (Betty) Welch Spigarelli; his brother, Jeffrey S. and sister-in-law, April (Waddington) Spigarelli; 2 nieces, Elizabeth Jean, and Megan Rose Spigarelli; aunt, Pam Spigarelli; and many cousins. Dan was preceded in death by his grandparents, Angelo D. and R. Evelyn (Lund) Spigarelli, and David T. and Mildred E. (VanSickle) Welch; and uncle, Lee A. Spigarelli.
A memorial service is planned for summer 2018 in a historic Minnesota Maria Chapel, built in 1889, where the family has Swedish roots. The beloved family log cabin is nearby, that his great grandfather built on Spirit Lake, and where Dan first appreciated God’s beauty in nature. Dan will be buried in the Diamond Lake Cemetery (next to the Chapel), near his Swedish great grandparents, grandparents, and other relatives.
In memory of Dan Spigarelli, memorials may be sent to: The Colorado School for Deaf & Blind, 33 North Institute Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903.