Dana Moore Dourdeville was born December 27, 1992, and lived his whole life in Marion, Massachusetts. He died on December 31, 2013. Dana is survived by his mother, Karen, father, Tad and brother, Jared, as well as treasured aunts, uncles and cousins. He is also survived by a core group of fiercely loyal and loving friends – you know who you are – Sarah and others at Brown University, friends from Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Vineyard Haven.
Dana attended Sippican Elementary School in Marion, then the Old Rochester Regional Junior High and Senior High School where he was Valedictorian of the class of 2011. Dana was a junior at Brown University, where he was completing the Sc.B degree in Mechanical Engineering. Many people knew Dana as a runner. He began running 5k road races in elementary school, then competed on the Old Rochester Regional Junior High and Senior High Cross Country and Track teams. Dana was captain his junior and senior years. He competed on the Brown University Varsity Cross Country team his freshman year in college. Dana set and accomplished many running goals for himself and his teams.
But Dana was much more than a runner and a scholar. Following his love of the outdoors, he worked five summers at Parlow Mill Farm, in Marion. His biggest smile would appear when operating the backhoe, about which he wrote his college admission essay. In his recently updated résumé, Dana listed interests including: Jeep maintenance and repair, mountain unicycling, travelling, camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, sailing, and woodcarving. He recently took up blacksmithing, making Christmas presents in the garage using his self-built forge. Dana was also a wordsmith and enjoyed creative writing.
In college, Dana became President of the Brown University chapter of “Engineers Without Borders” and participated in an investigative trip to Tireo, Dominican Republic. Dana also became an Educator with the Providence After-School Alliance, which offers enrichment programs to inner city high school youth. With several other Brown students, Dana conducted weekly afterschool activities for high school students, teaching bicycle maintenance, building a hovercraft, and constructing model cars and airplanes from scratch.
Dana completed an internship in the summer of 2013 with Alianza Arkana, a non-profit organization working with indigenous partners in eastern Peru. Using his engineering skills, Dana designed and constructed ecologically-sound composting latrines, installed solar panels at a village school, and planned a sustainable aquaculture project. His supervisor in Peru, upon learning of Dana’s death, ended his letter with “You are very much missed, but your fire and inspiration lives on within us all.”
Dana’s accomplishments are many. As those who knew him have expressed, time and time again over these past several weeks, everything that he did was infused with kindness and humor. Dana lived his life passionately and fully. He would want all of us to do the same.
Dana’s family and close friends are overwhelmed, humbled, and deeply appreciative of the tremendous outpouring of support and love which has surrounded us during this terribly difficult time: tireless searching by volunteers on shore, at sea, and in the air, the giving of food, hugs and shoulders to cry on, search and rescue efforts by law enforcement and Coast Guard personnel. We want to honor and celebrate Dana’s life with a gathering on Sunday, February 9, at 1:00 PM at Tabor Academy’s Wickenden Chapel, 86 Spring Street, Marion, MA. A reception will follow at the Sippican Elementary School, 16 Spring Street, Marion, MA.
In lieu of flowers, the Dourdevilles ask that anyone wishing to donate in Dana’s memory please do so to the Old Rochester Regional High School Cross Country/Track and Field Program. The mailing address is: ORRHS, 135 Marion Road, Mattapoisett, MA 02739. Checks should be made out to: ORRABC (Old Rochester Regional Athletic Booster Club) Cross Country/Track and Field Program.
For an online guestbook please visit www.saundersdwyer.com