Obituary: Dana Santerre, 1958-2023

Dana John Santerre, 65, passed away in the early morning on June 11, 2023, in his Summerville, S.C., home surrounded by his family and loved ones.

Dana, known to those close to him as the “Great Dane,” was born on May 14, 1958, in Winooski, Vt., to Geraldine “Grammie” Mitchell and Emile “Pepe” Santerre. There, at the age of 16, he met his wife and best friend of 45 years, Lynn Perry. Dana lived most of his life in Vermont, where he raised his two sons, Scott and Josh. He was a loving father who enjoyed watching his sons play sports and never missed a game. He could always be found standing behind home plate, watching every single pitch. He worked his entire life at IBM as an electrical engineer, and, during his free time, he was an avid golfer who loved playing with his Williston crew every Saturday and Sunday. After playing a round of golf with the boys, Dana could be found at the 19th hole, talking and analyzing every single shot (good or bad) over a few drinks.

Like his father, Dana was very handy and could fix almost anything. He loved being in his woodworking shop building furniture or being outside helping to build a house for himself or for one of his eight nieces and nephews. Upon his retirement, he relocated to South Carolina to enjoy the warmer weather and to be close to his brother Daryl and family. While Dana did not have any grandchildren of his own, he became a surrogate grandfather to his grandnieces and grandnephews, showing them the same love and devotion as he showed his sons throughout his life. He loved being at the pool and playing with the grandnieces and roughhousing with his grandnephews.

Dana was always putting others first. He wanted nothing more than for his boys to be successful in whatever they pursued and always helped them make that dream come true. Even in his passing, Dana’s generosity lives on. In lieu of flowers or gifts, please donate to Lung Transplant Support at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

Dana is survived by his wife, Lynn; his two sons, Scott and his wife, Kaitlyn Fredrick, and Josh; his three brothers, David and his wife, Jeanette, Doug and his wife, Sue, and Daryl and his wife, Kathy; sister in law Tammy Perry Thibault and her husband Gerard Thibault.; and all his nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.  Dana was predeceased by his mother, Geraldine Lawrence Mitchell , his father Emile Santerre, his mother in law Dorothy King Perry and his father in law Fletcher Perry.

Dana John Santerre. 5/14/1958 – 6/11/2023. Thanks for being the best father, uncle, granduncle and best friend anyone could ever ask for. You will be missed Dane! Love you.

Dana’s life celebration will be held on June 24, 2023, in Hanahan, S.C., at 3 p.m.

This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2023.