Dafna Lotan

Throughout her 74 years, Dafna exemplified the definition of selflessness, compassion, and love towards her family, friends and everyone she met.

Dafna was born on December 1, 1946 to parents Meir and Dvora Malchi in Tel Aviv where she was raised with her two older sisters, Edna and Ofra. While on a youth trip to the UK, she met her soulmate Reuben Lotan when they were 16 years old. Dafna and Reuben married on August 22, 1967 and moved to the United States in 1984. They settled in Kingwood, TX with their three sons. Dafna had a Masters degree in Biochemistry and worked in the research lab with her husband for over 26 years at M.D. Anderson.

She took immense pride in her roles as a wife and mother, deeply committed and dedicated to her family. She performed these roles with so much love, caring and a great sense of warmth and humor. She took great joy in seeing her sons go on to have families of their own as she became “Savta” to her seven loving grandchildren.

Dafna’s personal interests were vast and included gardening, bird watching, knitting, weaving, baking and intensive exercise. As a breast cancer survivor at the age of 38, she began training for marathons. As with many of her endeavors, she dedicated herself to the sport and competed in many marathons, including her favorite, Pikes Peak Marathon. She also ran several ultramarathons and completed an Ironman. She was passionate about the outdoors, hiking and climbing and made a successful journey to base camp at Mount Everest. She and her late husband, Reuben, enjoyed traveling around the country and overseas during their marriage of 44 years. Dafna was a lifelong learner and took Spanish lessons after her retirement, enjoyed learning about nature and birds, and learned to weave on a floor loom. She was often seen at the Contemporary Handweavers of Houston Guild House working on beautiful projects.

She is survived by her sons Ori, Yair and Dan, daughters-in-law Cheri, Sandra and Katherine, grandchildren Julia, Dan, Jacob, Ethan, Allison, Hannah and Maya, sister Ofra Fuchs (children Rani and Sigal), and niece Noya Agadati-Zach (children Yael and Uri).

She also leaves behind many wonderful friends whose lives she touched.

The family will be paying their respects privately. In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider a donation in her name to M.D. Anderson or the Houston Audubon Society.