01/01/2017
Daniel Ray Siler died at his home in Eagle, Idaho December 20, 2016. He had been in hospice care since December 14 due to complications of liver disease and diabetes. His wife, Karen Ausburn, sister Cheryl Adkins, and brother, Msgr. Robert Siler, were with him, along with his beloved cats, Mr. Cooper and Savanna.
Dan was born December 17, 1956, in Wenatchee, Wash. to Glenn Siler and Carol (Reigh) Siler, the seventh of their 10 children. He attended St. Joseph Catholic School and Orchard Junior High School in Wenatchee before enrolling at Mater Cleri Seminary in Colbert, Wash. When the seminary closed in 1974 he attended Wenatchee High School, graduating in 1975.
Dan studied the growing field of computers at Seattle Central Community College. Armed with a diploma and a new suit, he was quickly employed by the Environmental Protection Agency to help with a computer transition. When Hewlett-Packard made the same transition a few years later, Dan joined the HP staff as a software engineer, beginning a decades-long career with the company. He worked in Lake Stevens, Wash.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and finally Boise, and traveled widely for HP both in the U.S. and abroad.
It was in Colorado that Dan met Karen, an HP employee herself, noted for taking new employees under her wing. Dan knew he had met his soulmate. Karen took some convincing, but he wooed her with the same creativity and care with which he wrote innovative software. They married in 1999. She enjoyed “seeing the world” with Dan on many of his trips.
After leaving HP during a company restructuring, Dan worked for Micron, then Supervalu in Boise, until his illnesses made it impossible to work. He had hoped to receive a liver transplant, but became too ill for the procedure. His prospective donor, Cami Kidder of Los Angeles, was able to come for a final visit during his last week so that he and Karen could thank her personally for her willingness to help, and for the hope her generosity gave them.
Dan’s younger sister, Mary Jarman, and her husband Mike also were able to visit, and Dan received an outpouring of calls from his relatives, including a special call from “Uncle Jack,” Karen’s uncle, retired city magistrate Jack Allison, 90, known as the
“Singing Judge” of Gaffney, S.C., who sang “Happy Birthday” to him over the phone, and prayed with him, one of many signs of affection he received from his family before his death.
Dan is survived by his mother, Carol (Siler) Yetter, 88, of Wenatchee, and his nine siblings: Terry (Tom) McEachern; Steve (Trixie) Siler, Cheryl (Russ) Adkins; Jerry (Janeene) Siler; Joel (Judy) Siler; David (Marie) Siler; Msgr. Robert Siler; Mary (Mike) Jarman; and Carl (Brenda) Siler, along with many cousins, nieces and nephews, and their children and grandchildren.
The family is especially grateful to the staff of Keystone Hospice for the outstanding care they provided during Dan’s last days, as well as the fine medical care provided to him at St. Alphonsus Hospital and throughout the Boise medical community. The family is also grateful to Dr. Kiran Bambha, formerly a member of the liver transplant team at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver, who never wavered in her advocacy for Dan.
Funeral services will be announced at a later date.
