Dan McQuade, our friend and colleague, died this week at the age of 43. He is survived by his wife and young son.
At the end of 2024, Dan was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer. The news of his diagnosis hit all of us hard, but Dan never lost his enthusiasm or his spirit. Some of us have worked with Dan for nearly a decade, and all of us have come to know him not just as a coworker, but as a great friend.
Dan was a truly authentic and engaging person. His curiosity was relentless, and his interests were varied and idiosyncratic; his beliefs were righteous and genuinely held; his connection to his community was deep and meaningful.
We miss Dan dearly, and will be honoring his memory more thoroughly in the days and weeks to come. For now, though, we are going to slow down the site for a bit to be with our families, our friends, and each other. Over the next few days, some of our favorite stories that Dan published here at Defector will be curated on the homepage. We hope you’ll read and enjoy them.
