Obituary of Dana L. Homer, Jr.

Graveside services for Dana L. Homer, Jr., 75, of Lexington, will be private. Woodridge Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Dana Homer passed away on October 19, 2023. Born in Pittsfield, MA, he was a son of the late Dana L. Homer and Mildred Homer.

His daughter, Emily, states, "Lead, hard and cold and painful to the touch, sits in our chest where it used to beat with warmth and connection. To say our little local family was close didn’t fully describe how close and involved we were in each other’s daily life. Every day like clockwork, from the moment we woke up we texted or called and planned out our day together with Daddy. Friends just knew that if one of us was invited somewhere we were all coming. Daddy knew every minute of our lives, knew every minute detail of my children’s life. Sometimes, more than he honestly wanted to know.

As a child we shared every dinner with you, unless you were traveling or working, and this time was priceless. These meals were sacred, a time we shared talking around the table and discussing our day. All electronics were off, and we just laughed and joked and talked. No meal was a bad meal in your eyes, and the food wasn’t important. Even when I burned my newest creation and ended up ordering pizza. You would be the only one sitting there quietly scrapping the burnt sections off onto the plate, refusing to eat the pizza, telling me with a grimace ‘It’s great Emily’. You pretended to care about what I was making, always asking me ‘Whatcha cooking’, knowing full well that what I was making wasn’t important, you were still going to come over. Through these meals you nurtured a bond, that showed us how important our family connection should be to each other.

When you weren’t swinging children around in the air, you were sitting on a couch reading to them. It didn’t matter what the book was, you would read it as if it was the only book in the world. You read it as if you were a Symphony maestro, and the grandchild listening were your audience. It would captivate and entrance them and they would sit next to you for hours just listening to every syllable drop from your bearded mouth. Even your teenage grandchildren would emerge from their sheltered bedrooms to hear what you were reading. This set the stage for a love affair of books with your grandchildren, and what I credit now for the only thing I don’t have to worry about with their education.

Your love of education was evident by your career achievements. After meeting the love of your life, my mother, you went back to school to become a chemical engineer. Working nights as a bar tender and spending your days in Engineer classes, you and mother survived those college years on your own. In that engineering career you demonstrated to your children hard work, loyalty, reliability, and perseverance. Those you supervised knew that when you gave your word, nothing could make you break it. You would work all day, then come home and stay up with me for hours helping me with my math or chemistry homework. After my homework was done, I could then hear you and mother laughing and joking together for hours from the kitchen. I would fall asleep to the rhythmic sounds of that laughter.

You weren’t perfect, but you tried, and that is all that matters. There were rough times, but I chose now what I want to cling to. You taught me the importance of honesty, of keeping your word, and never ever giving up during a fight. You taught me to fight, but you also taught me how to apologize when you made a mistake. You supported me throughout all of my endeavors even when, I’m sure at times they scared you. To this day, between you and mother, you were the only one able to watch me spare in tournaments without wincing.

You were the wind beneath my wings, you taught me what to fight for, and gave me the strength to continue to fight when others would have stopped. At times you told me what you thought, and other times you just gave me quiet reflection. The muscles around your mouth would change their shape just slightly, and in that look, I could tell you weren’t happy about something I had done. I didn’t mean to make you worry Daddy, I just wanted to change the world for the better, just as I thought you did.

I loved how much you loved everyone you met. There wasn’t a discriminatory bone in your body. You were protective, and my confidant. I always felt like I could come to you with anything that I was worried about. From you I learned how to be protective of my family. From you I learned how to teach my children how to love. From you I learned how to teach my children to love each other, and to strive to care for each other. From you, I learned to stand my ground when injustice has occurred. To fight to correct that injustice, even if it means pausing temporarily before regrouping to strike again. From you, I learned to appreciate the little family moments that are more precious than anything else in the world. From you, I learned to openly love all children and to be selfless in that and find a way to bring comfort to all children I meet. From you I learned to accept all into our life that want to treat us well, and want to walk with us, and how to draw boundaries for those that don’t. You will be missed but never forgotten, our heart, our rock, our soul, our Daddy".

His son, Dana, remarks, “Dana Jr, my Father, who “accidentally" gave me the same exact name, was an ideal Dad who always followed through, but could have trouble planning (at times).  My late Mother on the other hand, was an excellent planner, though she could have trouble following through.  They complimented each other better than any couple I have ever met and truly belonged together.  They did not function well apart from each other.  I cannot describe how much I will miss my Dad, but I hope that they find happiness again, by reuniting beyond this world. 

Dana is survived by his children, daughter, Dr. Emily Homer-Conrad, PharmD (John Conrad, Esq.) of Lexington; son, Dr. Dana L. Homer Jr, M.D. (Maria Jose Arconada) of Coral Gables, FL; grandchildren, Peyton Homer, Lucia Homer, Gabriel Conrad, Helio Homer, Collin Conrad, Nicholas Conrad; sister, Linda Homer of Batesburg, SC. Dana is also survived by his loving grand-pets, Bruce and Leena.

In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his wife, Diane P. Homer, and his brother, Larry, and sister, Gail.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the ALS Association of South Carolina, 130 Gardeners Circle, PMB 622, Johns Island, SC 29455, or to a charity of one’s choice.

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