Dana was born in Portland, Oregon, on August 21, 1958, to Anthony and Donna Abbey.He was the seventh of ten children. Dana is survived by his wife, Susan, his son, Chris,his daughter, Kaitlyn (Ralph), and his granddaughter, Autumn, two brothers (Tom and Stephen), four sisters (Carol, Anita, Donna, and Becky), and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers (Tony and Bruce), and one sister (Barbara). He lived in Gwinn, Michigan, from 1964 to 1979, when he joined the Navy. He was stationed on board the USS Kansas City AOR3 at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, California. Growing up in Michigan, his family was rich beyond measure; not financially, but rich with the love and caring of family and friends. They spent a lot of time outdoors. The kids learned to hunt, fish, pick wild berries, and grow a garden. They played together and worked together. They attended Bible Camp in the summers and made many friends who summered in the upper peninsula. After leaving the Navy, Dana returned home until he moved to Texas. His oldest sister was going through a divorce, and he came here to help her out. He met Susan at Jus’ Country, a dance club in Windcrest, where he proceeded to walk her around the dance floor. She wasn’t impressed with his dancing skills, and that first dance remained a life-long joke between them. But it was a relationship that was meant to be. They met in November and Susan invited him to meet her family at Christmas. The rest is history. Susan and Dana married in 1985 and enjoyed their life together for 37 years. It wasn’t always sunshine and roses, but there was always love at the heart of it. Together they raised two amazing children - Chris born in 1988 and Kaitlyn in 1991. Dana worked for Susan’s parents at their ceramic shop nights and weekends until it closed after her Mom’s passing. He also worked at the Lone Star convenience store onToepperwein while he and Susan were dating and after they were first married. He went to work at Northside Refrigeration Supply in the mid- to late- 80’s until it closed in 2005. The next year, he started working at Judson High School until 2010. He opted not to work after that and became the chief cook and house cleaner. He took to the cooking task very well and became famous for his cheesecakes. He never embraced the cleaning tasks though, and when Autumn was born in 2011, he gave up on them completely, becoming her full-time caregiver instead. He still cooked and baked, so much so that Autumn doesn’t think Grandma can cook! Dana never met a stranger and would talk to anyone about anything. He loved history, especially about the Pacific in World War II. He enjoyed watching paranormal shows onTV, and loved The Curse of Oak Island, not only because of the history and mystery of the treasure, but because Rick and Marty are from Michigan. Knowing that it was all a hoax, his favorite “reality” show was Mountain Monsters. Dana had recently renewed his love for trains and watched YouTube videos for hours. He enjoyed going to train shows and estate sales looking for just the right engines and cars for his recently built train track, planning to make it part of a Christmas display.