Daniel-William Neville-Lake

February 3, 2006 - September 27, 2015

Crash Date: September 27, 2015

Smart, athletic, caring grandson & Kuya

This year Daniel should be 14.

Here are 16 little pieces that made up my wonderful Daniel.

1. Daniel loved playing all kinds of sports, especially the B ones - baseball, basketball & ballet. He went to his first and only Blue Jays game in June 2015 where he got to run the bases with the Jr Jays.
2. He wrote his first song by himself when he was almost 7 for his sister Milly. He would sing it over and over whenever she was upset.
3. He loved ketchup and salsa but hated plain tomatoes. One of his favourite recipes started off with "Get all the yucky tomatoes from the garden you can hold..." However he would eat any other vegetable and fruit he could find.
4. Daniel loved to help out anyone...even if you were a bug that his brother was trying to catch. If that bug caught Daniel's eye you could guarantee it would be relocated somewhere safe.
5. Daniel liked to set up epic battles with all kinds of different types of troops all over the house, record the battles with his camera and tell you in detail who won and why.
6. Daniel was a natural supervisor, just like his grandfather Gary. You would often see them walking together with their hands behind their backs and chatting.
7. Daniel was a ballet dancer and danced with the City of Brampton for 4 years. He was so proud to be the only boy in his class. When he grew up he wanted to be a police officer during the week and a ballet dancer on the weekends.
8. He was very creative and loved to explore, especially in the kitchen. He made amazing scrambled eggs, pancakes, peanut butter sandwiches and bread. He had his own cookbook that he would fill up with his favourite recipes and "obedient ingredients".
9. Daniel was very clever at board games. He played killer games of Monopoly, Settlers of Cataan, checkers and Go Fish. He liked video games too but his favourite was Settlers, especially with his Godfather Age.
10. He was the best at making nests out of anything and falling asleep in them. When he was sent to his room you had to specify "no covers" because otherwise he would just snuggle up in bed and fall asleep, even if he only had to stay in there for 2 minutes. He always kept his head covered when he was sleeping and wrapped himself in his blankets, even in summer.
11. Star Wars, Pokemon, Lego, Super Mario, Avatar and Slugterra were among his favourite stories to act out. He picked up languages easily like his mom and would perform plays and skits in whatever language he felt like using at the time. He loved to express himself by talking, drawing or by using his camera to capture the world around him.
12. Daniel loved to play with his friends. He got along with everyone and always tried to include whoever was around in whatever he was involved with.
13. He loved being a Kuya. He picked out Harry's name, decided on Milly's nickname and decided what he (and ultimately his siblings) were going to call his grandparents. There is a reason my dad was called "Papu" and that is because Daniel decided he liked the way it sounded when he was 2. That's it.
14. Daniel inherited his mother's gardening skills to his dad's dismay. He would regularly and enthusiastically pull out the weeds, grass, vines, plants...and whatever else was around it. He was good natured about it and very sensitive about fixing the plants so they could grow again. We went through a lot of tape and staples in the summer.
15. He loved to snuggle and give hugs. He was never shy about holding hands with his siblings, family and friends in public.
16. Daniel loved animals and nature. He took great care of his guinea pig and his grandparents dog Abby. He loved to be outside, go fishing and camping whenever he could.

Written with love by his Nanay, Daddy & Tita Jo