Alan Dankner, 69, of Watertown, died on December 1, 2015, at Massachusetts General Hospital from complications from Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Mr. Dankner was born December 12, 1945, in Brookline, to Norman and Anita (Parad) Dankner. The Dankner family moved to Belmont when Mr. Dankner was young and he graduated from Belmont High School in 1963. Mr. Dankner was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, and went on to study mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley where he received his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Mr. Dankners PhD thesis, On Smale's Axiom A Dynamical Systems, surpassed the usual PhD standard of significant original contribution to knowledge and earned him an invitation to do postdoctoral work at the prestigious Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, New Jersey. Mr. Dankner was a math professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. In 1983, Mr. Dankner moved to Jersey City, New Jersey to begin the study of law at New York University in New York, New York. He received his J.D. (Order of the Coif ) from NYU in 1986 and moved to Hingham. Mr. Dankner was an attorney with Goodwin Procter in Boston until he retired in 2013. Even though Mr. Dankner changed career paths, his interest in mathematics remained. He continued to follow advances in math, especially in topology, his field of expertise, and enjoyed communicating with fellow mathematicians. Mr. Dankner had long been planning to take his children to Berkeley to show them where he had studied mathematics and received his PhD. Fortuitously, they planned this trip right before he was diagnosed with cancer and they were able to enjoy this long awaited journey in August of this year. Mr. Dankner had recently moved from Hingham to Watertown when he was diagnosed with blood cancer. Although he was no stranger to sickness or hospital stays, having suffered from Crohns disease since he was a young adult, the diagnosis of blood cancer was unexpected and the rapid escalation to Acute Myeloid Leukemia was a surprise. A bone marrow transplant had been scheduled for December and his sister was matched as the donor, but his disease escalated too quickly to permit the transplant to go forward. Mr. Dankner is survived by his wife, Natalie Kanellis of Geneva, New York; his son, Jacob Kanellis Dankner of Brooklyn, New York; his daughter, Sally Kanellis Dankner of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and his sister, Elinor Dankner of Barnstable. He was preceded in death by his parents. A graveside service will be held at Sharon Memorial Park, 40 Dedham Street, Sharon, Sunday, December 6, 2015, at 11:45 a.m. Family and friends who wish to and are able to are encouraged to donate blood and to sign up with the bone marrow registry. Stanetsky Memorial Chapels 617-232-9300 www.stanetsky.com

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Patriot Ledger on Dec. 5, 2015.

Memories and Condolences
for Alan Dankner

Sponsored by Stanetsky Memorial Chapel - Brookline.

11 Entries

Robert A Hart

September 18, 2024

Dr. Dankner was my informal advisor and teacher at University of Iowa in the early 1980's. I ultimately enrolled at U.C., Berkeley because of his guidance and living example. He was always very patient and approachable. I remember him talking about his decision to go to law school after his tenure at U of I, which was very honest and also influential for me. Like all great teachers, he taught by example as well as by instruction.

Donna Krasnow

September 15, 2024

Oh my, I just found this obituary - 9 years after Alan´s death. He was a friend at Berkeley. A lovely person. I hope all his family is doing well.
Donna Collins Krasnow

Robert Hart

November 4, 2023

Dr Dankner was my math teacher at U of I 92-93? And his father in law was a debate mentor from IC West HS during my time at Charles City HS. Both men were incredible
Influences and mentors. I am truly sorry I wasn´t able to reconnect with Dr Dankner down the stretch. He was an inspiration for sure, in part due to his passion for math and in part due to his willingness to cut an entirely new path from his career as a mathematician.

December 11, 2015

My condolences to the Dankner family. I knew Alan since 1984, and he was a very nice man. He will be missed. Susan Randolph-Frey, Goodwin Procter

Bob Pomeroy

December 7, 2015

Alan was a wonderful man and excellent lawyer. I always enjoyed working with him.

Laura Hodges Taylor

December 7, 2015

Alan was known at Goodwin for his response to a casual "How's it going?" or "How are you?" passing in the hall. He would inevitably reply: "Never better"! We all smiled and sought to emulate his steady outlook. (It's not as easy as he made it seem.)

Condolences to all his family and friends.

Sara Quinn

December 7, 2015

Alan was a wonderful man whose response to how he was always resulted in a wonderful smile, and the phrase "never better". He was a special soul.

My thoughts are with you all.

Donna Hanlon

December 7, 2015

I worked with Alan at Goodwin, and remember him as a sweet, gentle man. My condolences to his family.

December 5, 2015

To my friend Natalie & offspring, my sincere condolences go out to all of you on your loss. Hugs, Natalie.
Judy Treisback

Patricia OBrien

December 5, 2015

The world is a better place because of you. RIP
Patty OBrirn, Belmont high 1963

Jon and Susan Simon

December 5, 2015

We enjoyed getting to know Alan as a colleague and friend in the Math Department here at the University, and later when Natalie and Alan visited Iowa City. To Natalie and your children, we offer our deep sympathy at this sad time.

Showing 1 - 11 of 11 results