Dana M. Grabiner of Hyattsville, MD died on November 6, 2019. The cause of death was cancer of unknown primary origin. She was 61. She is survived by her husband of 19 years, Joseph Preston Atkins III, her children Samuel (18) and Dasha (16), her sister Kimberly Bayer of Wheaton, MD and numerous nieces and nephews. There will be a viewing at Ft. Lincoln Funeral Home, 3401 Bladensburg Rd., Brentwood, MD on Fri 11/15/19 5:00 – 8:00 pm. On Sat 11/16/19 there will be visitation at Ft. Lincoln at 9:30 am, memorial service at 10:30 am and a second-line parade with the Wild Anacostias Brass Band at 11:30 am to the grave site. Following burial, join friends and family for a Celebration of Life from 4:00 – 8:00 pm at the Cheverly American Legion Hall, 3608 Legion Dr., Cheverly, MD. Dana was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Montgomery County, MD. She attended school at St. Catherine Laboure (Wheaton), Beverly Farm (Rockville), and St. Elizabeth (Rockville). She graduated from the Academy of the Holy Cross (Rockville) in 1975. She earned a B.A. from the University of Maryland and M.A. in Education from George Mason University. Dana moved to Prince George’s County in the late 1970’s and worked as a journalist for the Prince George’s Journal, legislative aid to Councilman Stephen Del Guidice, and staffer at the Gateway CDC. She served since 2006 as an instructional designer at the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security and Dept. of Agriculture. She lived in Mt. Rainier, MD from 1987 to 2009 before moving to Hyattsville. She was an avid horseback rider and an accomplished pianist, visual artist and performer. She was a member of the Wild Anacostias and led her own band, Swingset, writing and singing her own material (backed by her son and husband). In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Dana’s name to www.masmariposas.org/donate-now/. She was bright, beautiful and sassy.
