In Memoriam: Dan Price
It is with great sadness that I report that Dan Price, a Senior Lecturer who has been in the department since 2004, passed away on Wednesday. Because of the disruptions of the pandemic, I know that many of you may not have known that he was battling stage 4 lung cancer.
Dan was a deeply kind and empathetic man and will be missed by everyone who knew him.
Before coming to Texas State, he received his BA from Notre Dame and his MA from Miami University of Ohio and then worked as General Manager for ICOM Informatics for nearly a decade.
His extensive experience in the private sector enabled his fine teaching abilities in our Technical Writing classes, preparing our students to do well in their future professions. He also worked tirelessly to be a mentor and guide in our Internship Program, which he founded, along with Marilynn Olson. His students knew that he cared about them; they recognized him again and again for how much he contributed to their success.
Here is a note from Marilyn Olson, “When I was doing the preliminary work for the internship program in English, I was impressed by how unanimously the senior tech comm people suggested that Dan Price would be a good director to start the program. I hadn’t interacted with him before, but I soon saw what they meant. Dan was Old School in doing things in a decent and respectable fashion. And he always came to other people’s ceremonies and receptions to represent the department. I talked to him last at Elvin’s street-naming party. He was such good help with the early English Awards Day receptions – I have a vivid picture of his purposeful pitching in when the caterers were late, the ice wasn’t distributed, we needed to pull things together. I think he must have always done this for his extended family. It looked like that. He was a fine man. A good man. His students – the interns – so often won top student awards. They were remarkable people – though some students Dan nursed through the program had never had a job and didn’t know where to begin. They grew. He was committed to their interests, both the remarkably gifted and the remarkably young for their ages. This is a loss.”
Susan Morrison adds, “The news of the passing of Dan Price is a terrible loss to his family and a blow to our department. Dan-- invariably a considerate, courtly man--was committed to helping our students thrive and succeed. On the internship committee, I witnessed his determination to professionalize our students. At the portfolio presentations of his students at the end of each semester, he proved not only his kind mentorship, but also his ability to enable students to reach their full potential. I’ll miss his warm greetings in Flowers Hall. ”
Dan Price is a person who will be truly missed.
If you have memories or stories to share about Dan, please submit them here.
Please see below for stories that have been shared.
I think the first time I spoke to Dan it was in the faculty lounge and we spoke about shows we had seen at SXSW the previous week. It felt like we were the only faculty members going to shows in our spare time. We were friends first and I got to know him as a colleague working closely with him in the internship program. He was always warm and enthusiastic with students, and always encouraging to me as a fellow lecturer at Texas State. I was shocked to hear about his passing. He was such a positive force, and I’ll miss him greatly.
--Sean Rose
It is lovely to read the kind words shared in remembrance of my father. My mom describes his time at Texas State as the favorite job of his career. Dad first taught at Southwest Texas State University in 1976, moving to San Marcos from West Carrollton, Ohio with my mother and 2 older siblings, where they bought their first house on Indiana Street. My older sister began her academic career attending the lab preschool on campus and at some point lost a shoe in the moat around the theater building. While Dad was teaching Technical Writing at SWT, lifelong friendships were established, and our family grew with baby #3. Dad also found his passion for floating the river, which is a tradition we maintained throughout his life, celebrating every Father’s Day on the San Marcos River. In 1980 he accepted a position at DataPoint Corporation in San Antonio, moving the family to the Helotes area, gaining baby #4 (me!), and launching his corporate career. Retiring from industry and moving into teaching was a fulfilling transition for him, something he would have liked to continue for many more years.
--Annie Price Williams, Class of 2003
I worked with Dan at the end of every semester with his internship course. You could tell his students liked and respected him a great deal. I always found Dan to be professional, intelligent, courteous, kind, and good humored. I am deeply saddened to hear of his passing.
--William Jenson
Dan and I had offices on the same hall for many years, and he always made a point of stopping at my open door whenever he passed by. Regardless of what I was doing, I welcomed his visits. The topics of our conversations ranged from family, to teaching technical and professional writing (he did the former, I the latter), to student internships, back to family (LOTS of family), to religion, to textbooks, to . . . you get the idea. I have read this many times in the last several hours, but I will say it again: Dan Price was a fine human being. He was kind, compassionate, and altogether decent. He never took himself too seriously, a quality that allowed him to truly see and empathize with others. Those qualities served him well not just as a teacher and mentor to students, but also as a colleague and friend. Interacting with Dan was invariably a pick-me-up. I will treasure the memory of his broad smile and quiet laugh, and be grateful for having known him.
--Susan Hanson
Dan was always glad to talk about teaching with me. I never saw him without his kind smile and an implicit invitation to visit for awhile in the mail room or hallway in Flowers. I know his gracious geniality will be missed in our department.
--Laura Ellis-Lai
I've been with the department long enough that many colleagues I cared about have passed, but none of them hit quite as hard as this one. Dan was kind & thoughtful and always happy to see me, and I will miss him deeply. From Bobby Burns, a poet I know Dan appreciated: Few hearts like his, with virtue warm'd, Few heads with knowledge so inform'd; If there's another world, he lives in bliss; If there is none, he made the best of this.
--Anonymous