The night before this event, DPH and her sister friends from L’Ville, Taft and Loomis took NYC by storm. Now, what I really mean is that we had drinks at a bar near her hotel and likely tapped out by 10PM, but I think we forced ourselves to make it to last call. Afterwards, we stumbled upon a pizza spot and got a greasy slice to end the evening . Dana navigated the cracked NYC sidewalks like she was driving a high end luxury car.

The next morning, we all assembled for our annual meeting where we took this picture. What you may not know is that Langston Hughes ashes are interned at the center of the blue map you see on the floor. I like to think DPH is spending her holidays with Langston, Zora, Maya, J.Baldwin and the other greats in the clouds. She would show them this picture and say, “ those are my people ; my work family who held me down and lifted me up.”

To the Perry-Hunter family, we will always hold DANA in our hearts ❤️, she’s one of the greatest professionals of our time and we salute 🫡 her this holiday season and for days to come. 

Today is Vivi Veruca’s birthday, a day Dana and I would celebrate every year. So this year I want to use this day to celebrate them both.

This past month our Hill family said a tremendously sad goodbye to one our very best. Dana was the first person to introduce me to the boarding school that would help me crawl my way back to life after over 6 months on bed rest. I toured the Hill School at a time when my ability to return to any sense of normalcy was dubious. I don’t know how I could have taken that leap of faith without the uniquely compassionate and supportive welcome that Dana offered me back in 2011. I grew very close to Dana over the two years she was my dorm mom. Dana’s ability to meet me where I was on my journey with illness and invisible disability was the greatest gift anyone could’ve given me during that time. And that’s just it! Dana was one hell of a gift to everyone she met. She was hilarious as can be and used her sharp sense of humor to cut through your sorrow and lathered you with love.

Looking back on my messages with Dana, it’s extraordinary how comfortable she made me to share absolutely anything on my heart. She was a warrior and she lead with her strength, always showing others her ability to hang with them in the dark without letting them stay there too long.

She is a hero. She had a special knack for making people feel special. I will always look to her example in my patient advocacy work and anything I do to fight for the rights and dignity of those with disability.

Over the years when she would hear that I was back in the hospital or struggling with a flare she would be sure to send me a message assuring me that she was sending me her guardian angel. We’d swap book recs, share inspiring anthems, and even offered each other organs on a few occasions.

Without Dana there would have been no Paddy. Dana was the first person in my life who saw what I was juggling and suggested the potential benefit of a service dog. She walked through the long, patience-testing process of getting partnered with one and didn’t let me give up hope when it felt like I would never find my boy.

Back in January of 2016 when Vi died and Dana learned by grandfather passed just a few days later she sent me a message: “Francie, I am convinced more than ever that Vi went first to prepare for your grandpa.”

We lost Dana just two days after saying good bye to Paddy and I can’t help but wonder if Paddy was doing for Dana what Dana believed Vi did for my grandfather. He probably just wanted to be there with enough time for her to get the warmest of welcomes.

I now trust I will forever have two of the greatest angels of all forever watching over me. It breaks my heart that I will never be able to thank either Paddy or Dana enough for all they did to make my life more bearable and much more beautiful. Thankfully, I have no doubt Dana will be giving me the strength and resolve to be more like her for the rest of my life...and if I can honor her in that way, it will ease the grief and keep me forever tied to my “Mama.” 

“Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. You were bigger than the whole sky.”

Today we officially say goodbye to one of the brightest lights and toughest humans this world and our campus has known. Dana taught me many lessons over the years as a dear friend, amazing neighbor, and fellow MSer. She taught me how to find light in even the most trying situations, how to rely on friends, family, reality TV, and junk food to get through the worst days, and how to FIGHT incessantly for more good days. But the most important lesson that Dana taught me was how to find JOY in life, even when the road before you felt really unfair. We called each other sister-wives and embraced our #squadgoals. We pepped each other up before doctor’s appointments, checked in on each other after treatments, consoled each other during tests, and confided in each other during relapses. While MS warrior wasn’t a club either of us ever wanted to be a part of, it was a title that birthed a unique and special friendship that was unlike any other I have ever had. She would text me, “Hey there super-woman. Go hike another sand dune and kill the MS game.” Even when I was far from killing the MS game, Dana assured me that some days it was enough just to hang out on the couch and watch questionable television.

A few years ago when a dear friend of mine passed away, Dana texted me, “I think the biggest thing I’ve learned from MS is that asking why is futile. You know that; but to have touched one person, let alone the thousands of people he did...he had a tremendous run at this crazy game of life.” I have found myself returning to these words many times over the last few days when I start to struggle both with the untimely loss of Dana and with how trying Dana’s road was at times. She touched thousands of lives, and she sure had a tremendous run at this crazy game of life. What’s even more miraculous is she did it all while fighting physical and emotional battles so many knew so little about.

Our friendship was defined by so much more than just that one commonality. It was defined by trivia, late duty nights, Netflix marathons, Rosa walks, s’mores dip, online shopping sprees, Bachelorette recaps, Skinny Girl cosmos, French martinis, and Lilly Pulitzer. It was defined by shows, movies, and book recommendations, especially Untamed which we both embraced as our battle cry. In Untamed, Glennon Doyle says, “I learned that there is a type of pain in life that I want to feel. It's the inevitable, excruciating, necessary pain of losing beautiful things: trust, dreams, health, animals, relationships, people. This kind of pain is the price of love, the cost of living a brave openhearted life – and I'll pay it.”

What MS took away from Dana, I will fight for every single day that I have left on this earth…for both of us. I will fight to honor her spirit of strength, resilience, optimism, and determination. I will be forever grateful for her friendship, wisdom, guidance, and wit, and I will forever miss her huge smile, her contagious laugh, and the irreplaceable role she played in my life. 

Dear John and Dolores,

I am so sorry for your loss!  I never met Dana but she looks like she was a vibrant and giving soul!  Such a tragedy.   These will be difficult times, but I hope that the wonderful memories you shared with Dana give you some comfort in the days, months and years ahead.   Sending you all my love.

Karen

My condolences to the Perry-Hunter family.  Dolores, John, Marcus, Briana, her partner Steven and the other family members, I’m so sorry for your loss. 

Blessings & Love,  Mae Keyes 

PH was my Admissions interviewer at Hill, and in hindsight was probably the greatest influence on my matriculation, as she was my family’s first impression of the school. Like others that have attended Hill, being a part of that community as both student & alumnus has impacted my life in immeasurable ways, and my family has Dana to thank for being the spark that set the rest in motion.

I am saddened by her passing and wish I could be there this weekend to pay my condolences in person. Although we will miss her, the lives she influenced during her time on Earth have been permanently changed for the better. Dana's spirit will endure within each of us, ready to be shared with others. What a legacy to leave. 

Thinking of her family during this time. 

💙🩶

Colin Casey ‘06

On busy mornings in the Meigs House living room, families on admissions visits to The Hill – boys tucked into new blazers, girls properly prepped, moms and dads edgy, all huddled in whispered, distracted chatter – would be bolted upright, lifted from sofas and chairs, by a bark, a thunderclap of a voice, “Devon Stuart, you’re next!” A stern centurion then flashed a mischievous, delighted smile and a cackled laugh that said, “Welcome to The Hill! Relax, be yourself. Let’s talk. We’re glad you’re here.” Then Dana, braced by a cane, would step forward proudly, firmly shake young Devon’s hand, and startle him and the Stuarts out of the stiffness, the diffidence, even the pretense that might normally accompany a meeting at A Traditional Boarding School. That’s right, she’d demand, be yourself, and that will be just fine. Who could better welcome families to our school, radiate its values and ideals, embody the fundamental humanity of the place, its vigor and its rigor, than Dana? Surely God blesses her, as she blessed us with her service.

David and Kay Dougherty