A soul with a beautiful heart and mind. A beloved husband and friend. He was a man of his word, kind, fair and giving. Embraced and cuddled by his wife Carolina, his difficult fight with cancer was their enduring committed battle together. A courageous fight that ended on August 9, 2020. Dana was 69. A true brave heart that bore the marks of the fighting spirit of the courageous Clan Gunn of the highlands of Scotland. AS blue as his eyes Dana wore his "blue uniform" with fairness as an OCCC Adult Corrections Officer, shoulder to shoulder with ACO comrades for 30 years. Inmates who knew him said "ACO Gunn was firm and fair"...Endowed with strong safety and security instinct, he trained his mind to always have a safety and security plan where ever he went.Love bloomed in a Correctional setting when Dana fell in love with the facility's new Librarian, Carolina. She saw a kind and unique beautiful soul in his eyes. They were married for 26 years.
Dana was born in Milk River town of Lethbridge, Alberta Canada to Robert and Gladys Gunn. The family moved to Longview, Washington, a quiet and happy little town where he made friends he bonded with for life. He grew up to be "Mr Know it all Guy". He admired the genius of Elon Musk, dreamt about meeting and talking to him someday. He was in his high school's wrestling and swimming teams. His agility was put to test when a distressed young boy was drowning in Oahu's Sacred Falls river, Dana dived into the deep and saved the boy's life. Dana was also an expert on Heimlich Maneuver and CPR that helped save lives including Dad Robert who suffered heart failure on a train in Scotland, he pulled the train's emergency break, administered CPR to Dad and brought him back to life. He was also vintage cars enthusiast, loved PBS Nova series and made many inventions in his mind. He loved cross word puzzles and unbeatable on many chess games. Dana enjoyed fishing with bosom friends and would always end up cathching the biggest and most number of fish. Kids looked up to him as a teacher and a man of authority. Beautiful painted canvasses hang in the walls of their Ewa Beach home, he was a great artist. He taught neighbor's kids how to hold paint brushes and mix colors. They loved tinkering with him in his garage filled with vintage collections. He encouraged them to peep into microscope and explore the night skies with his telescopes. They knew Uncle Dana was a Navy dispatched photographer during the Vietnam war and worked as an ACO. They loved talking stories with him, enjoyed most of all listening to his prison ghost stories. He was their Uncle Dana and was also their hero.
"... Very saddened by the loss of a very dear friend, shelter, husband and joy....Dana will always be loved and will remain in wife Carolina's heart forever...Many tears will fall but God's loving grace and great light of peace will endure above all...He is survived by nephews Elliot Gunn, Joe Koenig, Matt Dixon, niece Danielle Koenig, half siblings Charmaine Fritz and Robert Stevens and others. He will be greatly missed and will remain in the hearts of those who knew him and deeply cared for him. Predeceased by parents Robert and Gladys Gunn, sisters Robin Gunn and Marilee Ham, half siblings Wade Stringham and Myrna Nelson.
The love thoughts, prayers and encouragements extended to Dana and Carolina by their families, many friends, neighbors and various faith communities will not be forgotten. The family will remain grateful for the great care and compassion provided to Dana by a wide spectrum of health care professionals, nurses and nurse aides: Dr. David Tamura-Oncologist of Hawaii Cancer Care; Dr. Larissa Fujii-Lau-Endoscopy, Dr. Heckert, Dr. Bernstein, Social Worker Julia of Queen's Medical Center East; Dr. Jacob Harley, Dr. Onishi, Social Worker Aes Ferrer, Dr. Mariani of Queen's Medical Center West; Dr. Small, Dr. Le, Dr. Hirschberg, Dr. Love, Dr. Weber, Dr. Linden of Pali Momi Medical Center; Dr. Dipak Ghelani-Oncologist, Dr. Irina Crook Dr. Cherie Rosales of Kaiser Permanente.
FUNERAL RITE will be held at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Ewa Beach on Saturday, October 17, 2020 at 11:00 am. Safety protocols will be observed. Burial at sea will be at a later date.
