Dana Charles Adams moved through the world with deep curiosity and a profound sense of wonder. He was endlessly fascinated by how things worked — from the smallest details of nature to the vastness of the universe — and believed that life’s richest moments were those shared with the people we love. Thoughtful, kind and dignified, he carried himself with steadiness and grace, finding pleasure in simple things and meaning in connection. Dana was tall and handsome, deliberate in speech and composed in manner, and was often seen during cooler months in his brown wool fedora, a distinctive part of his presence. His mustache and goatee came and went over the years, but Dana’s quiet composure remained constant.
Dana was born on November 14, 1960, in Lebanon, N.H., to Franklin Adams and Anita Tancreti Adams, and passed away at home in Shelburne on January 4, 2026, held in love by those closest to him. He was Holly Fournier’s beloved husband of 24 years, and together they shared a profound love, one they named often, cherished fiercely and carried with them to the very end. He was a proud father of five children: Justin, Margo, Edward, Nathan and Esadecimale, each of whom meant the world to him.
Dana approached fatherhood with a sense of whimsy, fostering a love of science and exploration through mountain hikes, fishing, bicycle rides, kayaking, tidal pool searches, fossil hunts, geocache pursuits, flying kites, launching rockets and long road trips accompanied by audiobooks. With eyes turned skyward for astronomical events and outward across the landscape for echoes of humanity’s unfolding story in the Anthropocene, he invited his children to see the world as he did, with curiosity and wonder. Even simple errands around town became small escapades.
In moments of comfort, inspiration or comic relief, he instilled in his children perseverance, laughter, and a deep love of life and its many adventures. He offered both scaffold and safety net, remaining steadfast in his support as they walked their own paths and grew in resilience and independence. Dana’s relationships with them took different forms over the years, influenced by circumstance and geography, but his love for each of them was constant. Among them, his only daughter, Margo, shared a uniquely close bond with him. Dana affectionately called her “Goose,” and walking her down the aisle in 2023 was one of his most cherished moments.
He was also a caring stepfather to Michael and Peter and shared a loving bond with Holly’s family. In recent years, Dana and Holly found great joy in welcoming their children’s chosen partners into their blended family. In 2024, Dana became a grandfather to Thilo and Julien, who arrived nine weeks and an ocean apart, bringing him profound happiness. Dana is also survived by his three siblings and extended relatives in Vermont, California and Canada, as well as many dear friends and colleagues.
Dana spent his formative childhood years in Boalsburg, Pa., a place he remembered with great affection, where he developed a lifelong fascination with science and nature. As a child, he was known for his boundless curiosity, often beginning sentences with “Did you know that…?” or “You’re not going to believe this,” eager to share something he had just learned. He delighted in understanding how things were made and how they fit together, frequently taking apart toys and household items. As Dana explored woods and streams, that same attentiveness extended to the natural world: examining the structure of a flower, the way rain moved across its petals, or how the wings of an insect were attached. Adventurous and fearless in play, he tested the physical world as readily as the intellectual one, perfecting dramatic falls, fake trips down stairs and daring playground feats. For a time, he dreamed of becoming a Hollywood stuntman. Those early years shaped a lifelong habit of noticing, learning and finding meaning in how the world fit together.
After Boalsburg, Dana lived in Detroit, Mich., where his curiosity took on a more mechanical and technological form. As a teenager, he worked in a newspaper print shop during the era of typesetting, a process he found endlessly fascinating. Later, with high school friends, Dana immersed himself in early personal computing and video game development. He programmed on a TRS-80 computer, created graphics, and collaborated on homemade game cartridges — including Crunch Bug and the artwork for a game called ICBM Attack. The crew never made any money, but they learned, experimented and had a great deal of fun — an early expression of Dana’s lifelong love of building, tinkering and learning by doing.
Curiosity was Dana’s orientation to the world: the way he learned, worked, traveled and loved.
An autodidact with a passion for learning and doing, Dana delighted in figuring things out: 3D printing, flying his drone, perfecting a sourdough bread loaf or mending a well-loved tablecloth. He read voraciously and had an encyclopedic memory for the books, films, music and passages he loved, and a gift for weaving knowledge into conversation in ways that enriched the lives of those around him. Creativity and attentiveness shaped everything he did. He found deep satisfaction crafting imaginative greeting cards, preparing restaurant-caliber meals, and approaching everyday acts with care and artistry.
Professionally, Dana’s career reflected the same curiosity, skill and care that defined him personally. He served in the United States Air Force as a technician working on A-10 aircraft before moving into civilian roles that blended technology, design and communication. He worked at National Life of Vermont, eventually becoming director of marketing and communications technology, and later held creative and technical leadership roles at Level 9 and Bluehouse Group. Throughout this period, he also ran a design boutique, studiowerks, specializing in affordable, owner-managed websites — a path that led him to meet Holly, first through work, and then as a life partner.
From 2005 to 2025, Dana found deep contentment as his life with Holly grew more settled and grounded, alongside their blended family and many beloved pets, while also beginning what would become a long and fulfilling chapter at 800 Response Marketing and CallFinder. Over two decades, he served as a UX/UI architect and senior software engineer, becoming a partner in 2022. He was widely respected for his technical skill, breadth of knowledge and commitment, and was known as someone colleagues learned from simply by working alongside him.
Dana enjoyed traveling far and wide and felt most alive in places where history, landscape and human ingenuity converged. Berlin, Germany, held a special place in his heart, as did Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport, Maine, where he married Holly and spent many summers, and the Bright Angel Trail at the Grand Canyon, where the vastness of the natural world spoke to him most clearly. Some of Dana’s ashes will be scattered in these meaningful places.
Dana died from respiratory failure related to complications following a lung transplant. He had been living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a disease marked by progressive scarring of the lungs, and faced his illness with honesty and courage, holding fast to life for as long as he could. In keeping with Dana’s wishes, a private memorial service will be held at a later date. Donations in Dana’s memory may be directed to pulmonary fibrosis research at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. When making a gift, please select “Other” under designation and enter “Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Fund.” In the Tribute Information section, please note that the gift is in memory of Dana Charles Adams.