Daniel Mason Huse, 62, died peacefully at his home in Sharon, MA on August 30, 2018, surrounded by his family, after a five year struggle with brain cancer.
Beloved husband of Katherine (Roth) Huse. Adored father of Samuel M. Huse of Somerville, MA and Emma L. Huse of Brattleboro, VT. Cherished son of Marjorie (Carroll) Huse of Westwood, MA and the late Mason W. Huse. He is also survived by his siblings, David A. Huse and his wife Julia of Princeton, NJ, and Nancy J.
Weinreich of Westwood, MA; his nephews Alan and Michael Huse and Thomas and Stephen Weinreich; and sister- and brothers-in-law Diana Roth of Woods Hole, MA, Robert Roth of Norwood, CO, and Christopher Roth of Madison, NJ.
Raised in Sudbury, MA, Dan attended Sudbury Public Schools and graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury High School. He attended UMass Amherst, where his early study of geology gave way to an interest in economics, politics and labor history under the influence of prominent Marxian economists teaching on campus in the mid- to
late-1970s. He earned both Bachelor's and Master's degrees at UMass, excelling in both Marxian and classical economic theory. Dan enjoyed a long and successful career as a health economist, penned and contributed to numerous scholarly articles, and was valued by his colleagues for his keen intellect, his no-nonsense wisdom, his dry sense of humor, and his generous mentorship. Most recently, Dan worked as a Vice President of Life Sciences Data and Analytic Solutions for IBM Watson Health, leaving in December 2017 only after his illness made continuing work impossible.
At 6'8", with a solid frame, Dan was a bright, kind, gentle giant of a man, who endured a lifetime of questions about whether he played basketball (yes, a little bit, but certainly not professionally) or statements such as "Gee, you're so tall", from strangers and friends alike, with the stoicism bred into him by his long line of Yankee forbears. His parents introduced him to the joys of camping and the great outdoors as a youth, and with his long, powerful legs, he took to hiking and backpacking like a duck to water. He hiked the entire Long Trail of Vermont
accompanied only by his boyhood friend at age 14, hiked widely in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and in his later teens, he successfully completed a challenging technical ascent of Mount Robson, the highest point in the Canadian Rockies.
Residing in Sharon for many years with his family, Dan gave freely of his time to many community activities. These included volunteering in his children's elementary school, the Sharon Alternative School, demonstrating
maple sugaring at the Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary, coaching youth soccer and basketball, and serving as religious education leader for the junior and senior youth groups at his church. Dan also sang with his beloved Neponset Choral Society for many years, and served as its Treasurer for almost a decade. Dan continued hiking throughout his life, introducing first his wife, and then his children to the pastime. An initial hiking and camping trip with his son Sam in the fall of 1992 led him to discover the Appalachian Mountain Club's Cold River Camp, which became a beloved annual family summer destination for the subsequent 24 years. He served for a number of years as a volunteer Hike Leader at Camp, and even as his health deteriorated this spring, he contributed to the
annual Camp Opening volunteer work weekend in May.
A Memorial/Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, October 20, 2018, at 2 PM, at the Unitarian Church of Sharon, 4 North Main Street, Sharon MA, with a reception to follow. Visiting Hours with the family will be held on Saturday, September 8, 2018, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Dockray and Thomas Funeral
Home, 455 Washington Street, Canton, MA. Donations in Dan’s memory can be made to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, the Appalachian Mountain Club, or the Jimmy Fund of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute/"Team Neuro."