1919 – 2004

BANGOR – Jacob B. (Jack) Dana, M.D., 84, formerly of Gardiner and Ocean Point, died peacefully on Feb. 4, at home in Bangor. Dr. Dana was a devoted husband, loving father and faithful friend.

His caring, compassion and commitment are still remembered by his patients and their families.

Dr. Dana was born March 27, 1919, in Taunton, Mass., a son of Mary (Zuckerman) and William Joseph Dana.

He graduated from Boston English High School in 1936, Harvard University in 1940 and Boston University Medical School in 1943.

“Jack” Dana met the love of his life, Lenora (Lee) Ann Quinn, at the Veterans Hospital in Newington, Conn., where she worked as a nurse. They were married in 1948, and enjoyed over 41 years together until Lee’s death in 1989.

Dr. Dana worked at the USVA Hospital in Togus for 36 years, serving as chief internist and chief of cardiology and retiring as chief of medicine in 1986.

Following his retirement from Togus, Dr. Dana worked as a hospital inspector for the Maine Department of Human Services, retiring from his second career in 1994. From 1995 to 1999 he worked at his final career as medical director for the Midcoast Hospital Nursing Facility.

Dr. Dana was a member and committed supporter of Temple Beth El in Augusta. He watched the small congregation of the Gardiner synagogue grow and thrive after merging with its Augusta counterpart. Temple Beth El and its congregation served as pillars of his strength for many years.

Always an active citizen and selfless and loyal friend, he was an avid (albeit modest) golfer and longtime member of the Augusta Country Club.

He was a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees and was pleased that the Red Sox had not won a World Series since the year before he was born.

Dr. Dana served on the school board for MSAD 11 and was a long-time member of the American College of Physicians, past president of the Kennebec County Medical Association and member of the Maine Medical Association. Dr. Dana was past president of the Maine Affiliate of the American Heart Association and past president of the Gardiner division of the American Red Cross.

As a young man, Dr. Dana joined the Army Medical Corps and served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. After the war he remained in the U.S. Army Reserves, where he served with distinction and earned the rank of colonel.

Col. Dana retired from the Army in 1979 after 36 years, but his military service was not yet complete.

As the United States prepared for the Gulf War in late 1990, Col. Dana re-enlisted in the Army and moved to Washington, D.C., for wartime service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As reported by Life Magazine and the Kennebec Journal at the time, Col. Dana, at age 72, was the oldest doctor, if not soldier, serving in the Gulf War.

He is survived by seven children and six children-in-law, Susan Dana Kertzer and David I. Kertzer of Providence, R.I., and Brunswick, William Joseph Dana and Emily Boochever of Brunswick, Mark A. Dana and Linda S. Dana of Chesterfield, Mo., Michael B. Dana and Janet T. Dana of Harpswell, Robert Quinn Dana and Cookie P. Dana of Bangor, Richard Patrick Dana of Cape Elizabeth, and Janet Dana Yue and Charles Yue of Chapel Hill, N.C.; 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, Molly E. Kertzer Bear and her husband, Greg Bear and their son, Samuel J. Bear of Seattle, Wash., Seth E.D. Kertzer of San Francisco, Lucy Diekmann of Berkeley, Calif., Jacob L. Dana of Brunswick, Libby E. Dana and Elyse M. Dana, both of Harpswell, Jennifer P. Dana, Katherine Lenora Dana and Elizabeth A. Dana, all of Bangor and Sarah Dana Yue of Chapel Hill.

Besides his wife, Dr. Dana was predeceased by a daughter, Elizabeth Ann; his parents; his sisters, Adelaide Dana, Dorothy Dana Segel and Helen Dana; and a brother, Lester Dana.

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