BEING FRANK AND WINNIE Continued from page 29


Every Sunday Frank’s gifts come through loud and clear


in Donna’s book, as does the intense grief she felt after her father’s second stroke, which occurred after he had become bed-ridden in a nursing home where he lived for five and a half years. Donna experienced disbelief that the man who completed the 270-mile Long Trail and climbed Mount Washington with her and her mother could become so incapacitated. It is through this particular lens that


Donna’s book is told; the book is framed around her visits to the nursing home. “It was so sad, just devastating to see


him like that,” Donna says. “It was in such sharp contrast to the way he led his life physically, mentally, in every way. To see him paralyzed on his whole left side, sitting in a wheelchair, talking less and less…” “I’d go home from these visits


exhausted and in the depths of despair,” she added. “I would ask myself what I could do to make this better for me, my family, for my dad, so I started writing about the wonderful adventures that we had.” And Donna began reading these


vignettes of her shared life with her father to him during her visits to the nursing home. “Often he’d nod his head, smile. He might laugh. Sometimes he would surprise me with words. Even if he didn’t speak, I knew he heard me.” Every Sunday looks back on the


Dearborns’ life together, honing in on significant memories from races, and hikes and trips, as well as on painful times, such as when the family lost Donna’s sister Deb at 27 to liver disease. It looks at simple moments—like listening together to the sound of a passing train. The book was published on Jan. 28, Doris


Dearborn’s 85th birthday. Donna says she used her middle initial, “W” for “Winnifred,” in her author title because, for all those letter- writing years, her father called her “Winnie.” Donna has done many public readings from


the book. Every Sunday has been well-received by reviewers, one who told Donna that Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom was one of his favorite books. “Every Sunday is even better,” that reader said.


TRIANGLE 1 Vol . 85, No. 2 Frank and Doris Dearborn As it turned out, that was Springfield


College. She learned this as a junior in high school. She was playing field hockey, and her coaches were two Springfield College student teachers. “They were just incredible—so inspira-


tional, competent, capable,” Donna says. “Their energy and passion was infectious. They led us to an undefeated field hockey season that fall.” The two also hosted Donna overnight


in a dorm room on campus, and she was so impressed with the College, she applied. “I saw it would be a great place for me. The friendliness and well-roundedness of it just


“Somebody said it should be required


reading for any young father, as my dad was such a good father and role model,” Donna says. “This book really encourages readers to be better people, better parents. It illustrates how positive our influence can be on others.”


The author’s life


The fact that Donna ended up at Springfield College was a surprise to her; she knew how much her father loved it there, but she wanted to find a college that would be a good fit for her.


seemed to fit.” She played varsity field hockey at Springfield College all four years. Donna lives in Chester, Vt., and is married


to Wally Kangas. She says while her father’s career was consistent and longstanding with one organization, hers has been multi- faceted. “I’ve had some wanderlust,” she says. After earning a master’s degree in exercise


physiology from Montana State University, Donna worked in the fitness industry, as a fitness director at a weight management center for women and as director of the human performance lab at Dartmouth College. A strong, longtime athlete herself,


she has also worked as an Outward Bound leader, taught sports and led walks and snowshoeing trips as well as lectured to groups on the importance of health and fitness in one’s life. At 61, Donna is an entrepreneur,


running her business, Precision Accounting, which she’s operated for 24 years. Her work allows her the flexi- bility to pursue that love of hiking and traveling that her father—both of her parents—instilled in her. She has explored faraway places


from the hill tribes country of northern Thailand to trails in Alaska and the sea in Newfoundland. She has scuba dived in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, cycled through southern China, and wandered through Malaysian jungles. These days one of Donna’s favorite


things is helping others realize their dreams, whether hiking the 4,000- footers of the White Mountains,


reaching the summit of Katahdin or accompa- nying a friend up Mount Washington to celebrate her 80th birthday. “I’m always ready for adventure,” Donna


says in a bio she wrote about herself. “I seek the tranquility of remote woodlands, mountains and waterways while hiking, backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, or backcountry skiing. “I carry on the legacy of my dad, who


was forever curious about what was around the next bend and where each rustic trail went.”1


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