Deceased June 5, 2016
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In Memory
George Dash passed away on June 5, one day before his 64th birthday.
At Amherst, he was known for his infectious energy and wry and ready smile. Most of us probably remember him on stage, either with the Zumbyes—slightest frame, deepest voice—or in plays, especially at Mt. Holyoke, from Guys and Dolls to Jacobean comedy. He met all challenges—athletic, academic, human—with courage, confidence, and joy.
George was fiercely loyal: to his friends, to his Phillies (not easy, living forty years in Manhattan, but he did it gracefully), to the idea, put daily into practice, that how you approach the works and days of your life is more important than any particular thing you might be doing. After college, choosing the theater in spite of the severe odds against success, George reveled where others struggled. If the role he was so excited to land lasted just two weeks, he’d go back happily to supporting himself as approximately a self-taught architect (carpenter, plumber, electrician). If he wasn’t up for a Tony, he collected trophies as a star pitcher for Sardi’s in the Broadway Softball League. When he had gotten what he wanted out of his first career, he moved on to graphic arts and he didn’t look back. He made the new career his own.
Diagnosed one year ago, George faced cancer head on, charging into therapy programs and making what was considered exceptional progress against a cancer with a 5 percent survival rate. The National Pancreas Foundation honored him with a Courage Award, which he accepted with the same courage, grace and humility with which he battled the disease.
George was thoroughly devoted to Deborah (Margulis), his wife of 23 years, and to their son Alexander, now a pre-med student and varsity baseball player at Macalester College. They both remained lovingly and single-mindedly dedicated to him through his illness.
We are all better off for having known him.
Donations in George’s memory can be made to the George B. Dash ’74 Performing Arts Fund, in support of students pursuing the theater arts and the Zumbyes a cappella program at Amherst College.
Submitted by George’s classmates Bruce Angiolillo, Glenn Eichen, Glenn Farrell, Peter Freeman, Frank Gordon, John Messenger, Bill Waddell, and Dalton Winslow