Most of us probably know Dan Naumovich as a monthly humor columnist for the State Journal-Register who makes us laugh at everyday aspects of family life. As a writer myself, I can tell you it’s a gift to be able to make something like having the flu sound funny. (Here’s one of Dan’s most popular SJ-R columns: http://www.sj-r.com/features/x1806564873/Dan-Naumovich-Sorry-kids-youve-been-chopped )

Few of Dan’s readers probably know that he is a third-generation Springfield Lithuanian-American, the grandson of Lithuania-born Leonard and Josephine Naumovich. Dan is also one of 10 children of Leonard and Jean Naumovich, and, he says, “probably the only one not to win a Fr. Yunker (Lithuanian student) college scholarship.”

Dan’s day job for eight years has been marketing the services of Crawford, Murphy & Tilly consulting engineers of Springfield. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Quincy College, and also earned a master’s degree in communications. “When I started grad school,” Dan says, “my wife Tammy and I had one child. By the time I graduated, we had four: Maria (now 13), Tessie (11), Victor (11), and Mark (8). It was a busy time,” Dan says.

Dan grew up on the North End and went to St. Aloysius Grade School. He graduated from Griffin High School in 1984. He started writing for the SJ-R in 2005. “The editor had been reading my blog, which covered local issues, and contacted me about contributing to the newspaper on a freelance basis,” Dan says. “I tend to write about my children a lot, but now that they’re getting older, I have to be a little more sensitive about it. Even though 99 percent of kids never read a newspaper, I don’t want any embarrassing stories making it back to the playground.”

Dan has a freelance writing service on the side, through which he writes for other publications, and also provides copy to businesses and organizations. His freelance web site is www.naumo.com.