Mr. Frank Johnstone Dana

COLUMBIA - Frank Johnstone Dana died on September 24, 2014. A funeral service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral at 3 p.m. on Friday, September 26, 2014, with burial following in the churchyard. A reception will follow from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Guignard Mansion at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community. Mr. Dana was born in Columbia, South Carolina on March 29, 1920. He was the first son of Jane Tucker Fisher Dana and Frank Johnstone Dana. After graduating from Columbia High School in 1937, he attended The University of the South. The salutatorian of his class and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, he graduated in 1941 with a degree in physics. After Sewanee, Mr. Dana then received a degree in mechanical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He served with the US Army Air Corps, spending most of the war working on airplanes in Canada with Air Transport Command. After the war, he met Laura Glenn McCants (Lolly), and they were married at Sion Presbyterian Church in Winnsboro on February 19, 1949. After working for Reamer Industries, Mr. Dana joined the Dana Insurance Agency in 1950, and worked there until his retirement. Throughout his life, he was a devoted member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, where he was a former member of the Vestry, the Churchyard Committee, a Docent, and a member of the Tuesday Morning Men’s Bible Class. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club, Forest Lake Club, and The Cotillion. He and his wife were members of the Quadrille, and former members of The Columbia Ball. Throughout his life, Mr. Dana enriched the lives of those around him with his quiet humor and love of the outdoors. He was an avid golfer and once said he “could not remember a time when he did not have a stick in his hand. “ He loved his native state and particularly enjoyed spending time at Woodcreek Lake, and at Litchfield Beach. He also enjoyed gardening, spending time with his family and friends and giving back to the Columbia community that he loved. A beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Mr. Dana was predeceased by his wife of 62 years, Laura (Lolly), his sister, Anne Dana Beach and his brother, Tucker Fisher Dana. He is survived by his three children and their spouses: Frank Johnstone Dana III and his wife, Susan Hostetler Dana, of Greenville, SC; Jane Tucker Dana and her husband, David D. Aufhauser, of Washington, DC and Nancy Dana Theus and her husband, William Harrison Theus, of Columbia, SC. He is survived by seven devoted grandchildren: Caroline Fisher Dana, David Dean Aufhauser, Jr., Anne Simons Aufhauser, Katherine Dana Aufhauser, Laura Dana Theus, Lilla Theus Colpini and her husband, Ty Colpini, and Julia Smith Theus. Additional survivors include his sister, Mary Dana Loring and his sisters-in-law, Eleanor McCants Surrency, Isabel McCants Yates, both of Lexington, KY, and Nelle McCants Smith of Beaufort, SC. The family extends special thanks to his devoted caregiver Nora B. White and to caregivers and staff at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in Mr. Dana’s memory to Trinity Cathedral Foundation, 1100 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29201-3717, the Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community Resident Assistance Fund, PO Box 2959, West Columbia, SC 29171, or a charity of one’s choice.