Dana Prince

Dana Bruce Prince of Denver, Colorado passed away at the University of Colorado Hospital on Thursday, November 10th, 2022.  He was born in Beverly, Massachusetts on February 15th, 1943.  He did his undergraduate work at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts and received an MBA at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.  After graduation, during the Vietnam War, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and assigned to (ATC) Medical Service Corp at the 3545th USAF Hospital at Goodfellow AFB, San Angelo, Texas.  During his three and a half years there he was the hospital Registrar, and then advanced to Chief Operating Officer.

After discharge, Dana and his wife, Donna (a USAF nurse), moved to Denver, Colorado, where Dana decided to pursue a career in Medical Administration.  He obtained a Master of Science degree from the University of Colorado.  In 1973 he became the hospital Registrar at Mount Airy Psychiatric Hospital.  He stayed at Mount Airy until it closed in 1994, having become the Hospital Administrator.

Dana and Donna started their family in 1973 with the birth of their son, Jeffrey Dana, followed by his brother, Michael David, in 1975.

The family loved the outdoors, and Colorado was their playground.  They shared hiking, skiing, sledding, and of course, many snowball battles.  They went to Yellowstone on a camping trip, and while everyone was outside watching an enormous moose wander through the campground, their dog Rocky was inside the camper eating Dana's special Father's Day steak.  Another favorite family memory was their trip to Alaska.  Catching salmon on the Kenai River and watching glaciers calving in Glacier Bay National Park were special highlights.

Dana grew up 'back East', and spent his boyhood summers at a cabin in Maine, at Lake Cobbosseecontee.  He and Donna often took their little family across the country to visit grandparents in Damariscotta, Maine and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  They especially loved the times they could take the boys to the lake, where they stayed at the cabin, fishing, kayaking, and boating.  Dana introduced his kids to whoopie pies and lobsters fresh from the ocean, and his absolute favorites, clam rolls and vanilla frappes.  For himself, Dana loved the wildlife most.  He would sit in the screened-in porch of the old cabin with his hot chocolate, watching the sun rise and listening to the haunting cries of the loons raising their families next to his.

Eventually both boys grew up and got married, and Dana and Donna got to change their names to 'Grammy' and 'Poppa'.  They were excited to watch Lois, Aiden, and Mitchell at various ballet performances, karate tournaments, and hockey games.  They all enjoyed building snow forts and decorating cookies.  Grammy and Poppa organized yearly Christmas teas at the Brown Palace, and frequent overnight stays at the YMCA Camp of the Rockies in Estes Park.  The entire clan spent many summers at the Maine lake, and Poppa would build a fire in the pit so that his grandkids could set marshmallows on fire.

In 2005, Dana and Donna moved to the new neighborhood being built at the old Stapleton airport, Central Park.  Their home was one of the very first built on Elmira Court, and they developed many friendships in their new neighborhood.  They loved watching the young families move in with small children, who all too quickly grew into active teenagers.

They became honorary neighborhood grandparents, and Dana took his role seriously.  He loved working outdoors, and taking walks around the neighborhood.  He would watch for packages on porches, and place them where they couldn't be easily seen from the street.  He knew his neighbors and their dogs by name.  The kids next door would yell his name when he came out, "Hi Dana!  Hi Dana!"  He set up a small wrought iron bench where little guys could sit while their parents and Dana conversed.

He was much loved by his neighbors, and some of the notes they have left on the door include "He has been a fixture of our daily lives and we will miss him."  "He was warm, clever, and funny."  "Our children love sitting on your small bench."

Dana never met a stranger.  He could talk to anybody, anytime.  He had a lifelong love of learning, and knew more than a little bit about a great number of things.  He loved history, and could point out where President Eisenhower golfed near their house.  When he and Donna traveled, he would research the area for facts big and small, to share with fellow travelers.  He knew so much about so many things, and he loved to talk.

Dana is survived by his wife of 52 years, Donna, his son Jeffrey (Lynn), and his grandchildren, Lois, Aiden, and Mitchell.  He was preceded in death by his older brother, John David Prince, and by his son, Michael David Prince.

Dana Bruce Prince was loved so much, and will be sorely missed.  He was many things to many people, and he loved his role as a storyteller, a historian, a husband, a father, and possibly most importantly, as Poppa.

Contributions may be made in Dana's honor to

Bluff Lake Nature Center

blufflake.org

Cobbosseecontee Lake Association

www.lakecobb.org

or

Kennebec Land Trust

www.tklt.org

or

Aurora Police Department Orphan's Fund

https://apacharitablefoundation.org/donate