Dan Frederickson, 37; shared passion for cooking, music

Daniel John Frederickson was a simple man, with simple pleasures.

Dan liked nothing better than a barbecue, a back deck and sitting with family and friends around a fire, strumming a guitar, according to his older brother Gus, of Oakville, Wash.

Music was a passion since Dan hit his teens. He spent hours spinning 45s on a turntable in his upstairs bedroom, his brother said. He didn't have a favorite. "He just liked them all."

At 18, he taught himself to play guitar, taking time each day to practice. "It was his peace of mind," Gus Frederickson said. In later years, he often played Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man."

Dan grew up in Elma, Wash., where he learned to fish and bow-hunt with his three brothers -- pursuits he continued after he moved away from the area upon joining the Navy in 1983.

"We were like 'The Three Amigos,' but there were four of us," his brother said. He also cultivated his cooking skills, mastering marinated pork and chicken on the grill and homemade pizza.

A chief petty officer in the Navy, Dan planned to retire and return to Washington in six months, his brother said. Since May 2000, he had been assigned to the Naval Submarine Base New London, in Groton, Conn.

Dan, 37, and his wife, Tracey Romanoff, 33, of Coventry, attended the show at The Station Feb. 20 because Great White was a favorite band, Gus said. For Dan, it was probably his seventh show.

Dan's career was marked by generosity, as he often worked holidays and weekends for his staff, his brother said.

"He was a person who was younger than me, but I looked up to him."

The 20 to 25 staff members Dan supervised within the quality assurance division in New London revered him as well, said Chief Petty Officer Yvonne Stoner, who worked with him for three years.

"He had a lot of respect for people and in turn he got a lot of respect," Stoner said. "He always remembered where he came from in applying his leadership."

While he was extremely skilled as a technician inspecting submarines, his interests crept into the workplace. He tantalized his coworkers with homemade meals; photographs of his four children and his motorcycle adorned his desk.

"He missed his kids a lot," Stoner said of Dan's four children from a previous marriage -- Kenneth, 17; 14-year-old twins Amanda and Ryan; and Amber, 12 -- who remained in Washington. "He was a real family man."

-- Katie Mulvaney

Points of Interest

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