On Friday, September 6, 2019, I wrote this in my journal:

“Dan was talking to me on Sol De Mayo about the word legacy, and how he keeps coming back to it. The example he gave of his legacy was a bench swing he had built on Sol. Whenever he sees somebody relaxing on it, it makes him happy to know that something he worked hard on is making someone’s life a little better, or a little easier. As the caretaker of the ranch, a lot of what he does revolves around making things a bit more comfortable for the people around him. The legacy of Dan is making life a little easier for those around him. I thought that was nice.”

I believe what I wrote that day embodies the life of Dan Rohde. A man who always sought to make the world a little bit better for the people around him.

Dan grew up in Angola, New York with his mom Cheryl and siblings Steve, Lisa, and Kim. His father passed away when Dan was nine. Growing up without a father, he faced countless challenges throughout his young life. He found guidance in the Boy Scouts, where he forged lifelong friends and learned to be self-sufficient and practical. One afternoon, hiking through the Adirondacks, he happened across a previous fitness client of his who’d offered him a ranch job in Patagonia, Chile, an offer he’d previously declined. Fate reunited these two, and as a testament to the spirit of adventure he embodied, he packed it up and headed down to South America. After establishing a new life in the Aysén region of Chile, he met the love of his life Fernanda, with whom he had a beautiful daughter Josefina. Being an enormous fan of the Buffalo Bills, when his daughter was born he joked that the number of Bills fans in Chile had instantly doubled. In his new home of Puerto Guadal, he was welcomed by the community on behalf of his charisma, the pride he took in working hard, and his love of life.

On Nov. 30, Dan Rohde unexpectedly passed away, leaving behind his young family and countless heartbroken across the world.

Dan was so animated with the love of life. He was an approachable and inspiring man who was always eager to share the wealth of knowledge he’d acquired in his alluring life. After I graduated high school, I attended a gap year program in Chile, where I met Dan. At that time, he was the caretaker of Sol De Mayo, an isolated ranch in the rural south. Throughout these formative years of my life, Dan acted as a personal mentor to me. He taught me practical skills, such as construction basics and livestock care, as well as a fresh new perspective on how to take care of myself and interpret the world around me. Dan took me and my friends under his wing and welcomed us to the unfamiliar world that he had carved his life into. He taught me how to be a man and take responsibility for my own life. The things Dan demonstrated to me act as a constant guide to the person I am today. He truly embodied the spirit of adventure and kindness. His patience and love touched the hearts of so many people throughout his life, and I’m lucky to have ever known a man in the caliber of Dan Rohde.

The passing of Dan leaves his family in an uncertain financial situation. At the time of his death, he had just begun a construction contract that would have supplied his family with income for over a year and a half. If we could raise enough money to supplement what he would have earned, it would temporarily remove the financial burden and give his grieving family time to develop a new plan and breathe a little easier. Dan spent his whole life trying to make things a bit easier for everyone else, so it’s only right to reciprocate the generosity that guided him. Any donation you can spare would help support the Rohde Solar family in these tragic times.

I love you Dan, thank you for everything you taught me.

If you have any stories of the impact Dan made on you and your life that you’d like to share, please email them to me below and I will include them here with your permission.