They ran toward danger
This is the first time our family tree has pointed me to an episode of Dateline. Oh, how I wish it weren’t so.
At first, the name Harry Kirk Dansereau caught my eye. (You may remember Marie Antoinette Dansereau from this family story. Her half-brother Edward was Harry’s father.)
After the name caught my eye, his obituary utterly charmed me.
Harry’s grandchildren wrote his obituary together. They told of his birth in Baltimore, and education in New Hampshire, Maryland, England, West Virginia, and finally, his PhD in Sociology from Michigan State University.
Called to service during World War II, Harry fought in the Battle of the Bulge:
After the war, he married Mary Eugenia Starcher in 1949. They raised two children, a boy and a girl.
Harry’s teaching career took his family on a whirlwind tour of colleges at home and abroad:
Although Harry’s son, Ed, did not serve in the military, he too will be remembered as a hero.
Edward Starcher Dansereau was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 1952. He studied theater at Western Kentucky University and made his living as a professional jazz pianist.
Here’s a taste of his talent:
And speaking of “taste,” Ed was also a gourmet cook. He loved to entertain.
There’s no way to say this delicately, so here goes:
In 2015, Ed’s neighbors were murdered by another neighbor. Ed was just sitting down to supper when he presumably heard gunshots next door. He grabbed his own gun and ran to help.
It’s a horrible story and one we won’t detail here.
I can’t yet bring myself to watch the Dateline episode about the murders, but am grateful to have found this tribute they made to share memories of Ed.
Two brave men. Father and son. Neither hesitated to run toward danger when the situation called for it.
Here is what Harry, at the age of 94, said at his son’s funeral:
No one in this gathering can question the depth of my sadness at the loss of you, my loving and caring son, my friend and my unequaled fellow traveler. True to your nature, you lost your life trying to help someone else.
Sign up here to receive an email notification with each new story: