Dan was born in 1965 to Jeannine and Roland Giroux of Hudson Falls and started school at Burgoyne Ave Elementary School in 1970. He was uninterested in education until his first day of 9th grade when a teacher informed the class that high school was a chance at a fresh start. That’s when education and school started to matter.
Dan graduated with the class of 1983 and continued his education at Siena College, Class of 1987, with a degree in marketing and a plan to take over the family monument business. He joined the boards of the Sandy Hill and Fort Edward Union Cemetery and New York State Monument Builders where he served in a number of offices including President in both organizations. In 1990, he joined Monument Builders of North America and became a Certified Memorialist, and later served as District Trustee of New York and New England for several years. In 1993, Dan was awarded the Siena College Business Division Gold Medal Award.
Dan married Lisa Cavanaugh in 1993 and moved to Ballston Spa. In order to improve his skills and better serve the community, he returned to school to learn to draw and draft, and won several national monument design awards.
Since that time in 9th grade, Dan understood that education opened doors, and with the support of his family, he returned to school. Soon after he won the Capital Area School Development (CASDA) Award for new teachers and completed a Master’s in Teaching in 2000. He decided, however, to return to the monument business but was better prepared for presentations and public speaking as well as teaching others throughout the industry.
Dan was selected to join the American Institute of Commemorative Art, an association of exceptionally creative designers. Dan has won several design awards within the organization including the prestigious Faehnle Design Award for excellence in memorial design.
Dan designed several civic monuments including the Korean War Veterans monument and the Global War on Terror monument in Crandall Park, The Ethan Allen Memorial monument in Lake George, the Four Freedoms monument in Minerva, the Global War on Terror monument at SUNY Adirondack and the 9-11 monument at the University at Albany to name a few.
He and his wife Lisa have two children, Dan and Rachel.