We just can’t help it.  All parents of daughters have a dream version of what a prospective son-in-law should be.

In considering who their daughter Heather might wed, my niece Chris and nephew-in-law Mark Milner figured out what their expectations were.

The guy should have:

1. a high IQ,
2.  an ingrained work ethic and a lot of drive and ambition,
3.  true love and appreciation of their truly spectacular daughter Heather,
4.  an abiding love of any extraordinary children the union might produce,
5.  and finally, a deep regard and intense devotion to any of Heather’s elderly great-aunts, especially any who reside in the Pacific Northwest.

This may sound like an order too tall to fill, but not for Daniel David Roecker.
Enter – stage right – the Man for All Seasons.

Dan was born on May 13, 1976 and raised, and educated in Salt Lake City, Utah.  He attended college at ITT Technical Institute for his Bachelor of Applied Science degree (Automation Engineering, Robotics, and Electronics Engineering.)

He was working for the Silicon Valley Group in Portland, Oregon, when he was set up for a blind date with my gorgeous great-niece Heather Milner.  Heather was working on a successful career of her own at the time, but what was to follow took on a life of its own.

Dan and Heather were married in a beautiful Jamaican wedding in July, 2003.  Since then, they’ve mostly lived in Utah, and they have successfully produced two little persons: Jake and Ruby.

Dan works for a Netherlands-based company called ASML.  The company deals with semi-conductors, which I find interesting since Dan’s little son Jake seems determined  be a train “conductor” when he grows up.

In December, Dan got promoted to serve as an account manager to the Intel account team for ASML, and so far, he’s enjoying the new position. He’s responsible for the Hillsboro, Oregon area.

Dan, Heather, & Company just survived the move to Portland and are living in an apartment till they can settle in a house.  Jake and Ruby weathered it like gangbusters. I learned today that the family’s offer on a house was accepted on Mother’s Day, and they’re going to be moving into it in June.

If things ever settle down, the family is looking forward to visits from Grandma Kiki and Grandpa Mark this summer. There’s a possibility that maybe everybody will take a train trip to Seattle to visit Octo-woman and associates.

Otherwise, if he ever gets any free time, Dan will pursue his love of archery and fishing. He took little Jake ice fishing last winter (brrr); and, usually every year, he bags a deer, hunting with bow and arrow in Utah.  (He’s not the one who shot Bambi’s mother, though.)

Have a happy birthday, Dan.  Live long and prosper!