David Alan Amato

Dave was born on August 14, 1954 and lived in Hamden, CT. He grew up on a farm on the lower floor of a two-story house, in a tight-knit family with his siblings Don and Linda, and his paternal grandparents upstairs. The farm was claimed by eminent domain when he was 13, and the family moved into a house his father built nearby. In his senior year of high school, the family finished a vacation cottage in Moodus, CT where he had fond memories of summer weekends on the lake and playing bocce in the yard.

He attended Colgate University, where he majored in mathematics, was a member of Sigma Chi, and graduated in 1976 with Phi Beta Kappa honors. It is there that Dave met his first wife, Beth Collea, and they married in Hamilton, NY in 1978. Together, they had three wonderful children, Daniel, Karen, and Deborah. They were divorced in 1995.

In 1982 Dave earned his PhD in Operations Research from Cornell University, where he developed new methods for conducting clinical trials for cancers. He then worked for five years as an assistant professor at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Shortly out of graduate school, he worked as a study statistician on clinical trials for treatments of carcinomas, melanomas, mesotheliomas, and sarcomas. At the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, he worked on chemotherapy and radiation therapies for gliomas, bladder cancer, and untreatable lung cancer.

After spending two years as an associate research scientist at the University of Michigan, Dave rejoined the Harvard School of Public Health as the Head of Biostatistics in 1989. Dave was particularly proud of this work at the Statistical and Data Analysis Center (SDAC), where he was lead statistician on HIV/AIDS therapies, including AZT. It was at SDAC that Dave met his beloved Victoria Hattersley whom he later married in 2001.

In 1994 Dave left academia for industry, including working as executive director of biostatistics at Sepracor, where he led the statistical analysis for the sleep drug Lunesta; and as senior director of biometrics at Shire HGT, where he worked on FDA approval for Firazyr, which treats hereditary angioedema. Dave finished his career at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where he served as vice president and head of innovation and methodology and worked on FDA approval of Trikafta, a breakthrough therapy for cystic fibrosis. Dave felt this was some of the most important work of his career; at an FDA hearing he was moved to tears by the testimony of patients whose lives were saved by the drug.

At Colgate, Dave learned to “work hard, play hard,” and he adhered to this philosophy for the rest of his life. Above all else, Dave treasured the time he spent with his family and friends, and travelling the world with Victoria.

Dave and Victoria had a vacation home in Wareham, MA near the beach, where Christmastimes and summer vacations were marked by large gatherings of their “Brady Bunch” family, their friends, and, eventually, their grandchildren. As the grandchildren became more numerous, they relocated to Pembroke, MA, in a house on the North River, and moved their vacation residence to Mount Vernon, WA, on Big Lake.  

Dave was well known for his love of cinema, catnaps, and more than occasionally combining the two. He was particularly fond of and expert at trivia, poker, and fantasy sports. Dave, fondly known as The Bear, lovingly passed the family pastime of bocce on to the next generation. He enjoyed making and consuming Perfect Manhattans, as well as the occasional cigar. His Bloody Mary recipe remains unmatched in the world. 

After being diagnosed with a glioblastoma in 2018, Dave began compiling much of his lifelong wisdom including his favorite films, card and dice games, and food and drink recipes at www.TheBearKnowsBest.com. Dave’s family particularly recommends his steak tip recipe.

Dave will be remembered for his intelligence, humor, wisdom, hard-working attitude, humility, and kindness. His love was always unconditional and abundant. When Dave counted you as his friend, it was for life. 

Dave is lovingly remembered by his wife, Victoria Hattersley; his children Daniel Jackson Amato (Kelli), Karen Amato (Joshua), Deborah Amato, Jason Wright (Julia), Aaron Wright (Elizabeth), Justin Wright (Kelly), Alene Russell, and Justin Russell; his grandchildren Rigby, Leopold, Logan, Georgia, August, Lincoln, Grant, Silas, Ellison, Kareena, Bailee, Harlequin, and Billie; his mother Barbara Kuslan, his sister Linda Belanger (Gene), his brother Donald Amato (Sandy), and his sister-in-law Vanessa Hattersley (Phil) as well as numerous relatives and friends. He was predeceased by his father, Louis Amato, and his brother-in-law, Michael Hattersley.

A virtual remembrance will be held on October 10, 2020. Please email [email protected] for details and to RSVP. A true Celebration of Life will be held at a date sometime next year when friends and family can share hugs, stories, food and drink, in keeping with Dave’s wishes.

In lieu of flowers, the family wishes that any remembrances are in the form of donations to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, PO Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284-9168, or by phone at 1-800-525-4669, or online at http://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/David_Amato. If making a gift by phone or mail, please note “in memory of David Amato” to support glioblastoma research. To keep The Bear’s memory alive, all are encouraged to visit www.TheBearKnowsBest.com and share his legacy with family and friends.