Daniel Arthur Pearson

11/5/1971 - 1/21/2026

Stonington - Daniel Arthur Pearson, 54, beloved father, son, friend, brother, passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, at Yale New Haven Hospital after a prolonged illness.

Dan was born Nov. 5, 1971, at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London to the late Jean B. Pearson and Arthur H. Pearson Jr.

Dan was a man about town and well-known practically everywhere he went. His standard greeting was: "Hey, how you doing?" He grew up in Mystic and attended Fitch High School in Groton, where his mother taught history and his father taught English, introducing him to the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne. He later lived in Stonington.

Dan is survived by his daughter, Isla Pearson; his brother and sister-in-law, Andrew and Dawn Pearson; and his wife, Alexa; as well as many, many friends.

A partial list of those friends include: Michael "Uncle Sully" Sullivan, Brian Allen, Eliot Van Buskirk, Rob Bose, James and Wendy Canty, Jennifer Rupnik, Hunter Tura, Gabriele "Gabster" Caroti, Zachary "Z" Hooper, Christopher "Hooah" Heuer, and Matt "Mark" Clark. Please know if your name is not in the above list it's not a commentary on your friendship with Dan, but a sign of the fact that Dan left behind so many friends who loved him.

At Fitch High School, Dan was a good student and an active athlete. He graduated from Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine in 1994, and later earned a Master of Letters (M.Litt.) degree from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland circa 2002. Dan's fascination with Scotland began during a study abroad year during his undergrad at the University of Edinburgh. As a result of his obsession, Dan became an unsurpassed Scotiaphile.

Dan made a career in journalism and college admissions. He wrote for Boston Magazine, and The Day newspaper, and then transitioned to the admissions office at Connecticut College then the Mystic Museum of Art, and later Hampshire College, where he championed the purest form of the liberal arts education, helping an incredibly diverse set of students achieve the dream of college.

His work in admissions allowed him to travel, which was one of his passions. He made it so his territory at Connecticut College covered the great barbecue meccas of the American South. Dan was also an international traveler with trips to Edinburgh, Paris, Istanbul, and Krakow, Poland on his list. Dan was a thoughtful gift-giver, too. He'd always come back from his travels with small objet d'arts –, a ballcap or a t-shirt, or a delicacy only available from the place he'd just returned from.

Dan was a writer, with three novels, and countless essays, journalism, magazine pieces and short stories to his name. Dan loved the idea of the salon. At the Mystic Museum of Art, he pioneered a speaker series of interesting people discussing off the wall topics, such as a professor of philosophy's love of all-you-can-eat buffets.

Dan and Alexa's home was the warm and welcoming site of many friendly gatherings. But the most famous social event of the year was Dan's Burns' Night celebrations – a fete of all things Scottish, especially fine malt whisky, bagpipes, the poetry of Robby Burns, and even the dauntingly delicious haggis.

Dan was a man of contradictory tastes. He loved combining high and lowbrow ideas and aesthetics. He loved champagne, caviar, hot dogs, and Miller High Life, the champagne of beers. He loved goofball comedies, like Strange Brew, but was also a connoisseur of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and John Cheever. Dan had an encyclopedic knowledge of dub reggae and indie rock. He had a superior baseball card and record collection.

Dan loved The Mystic Disc, The Simpsons, and Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog. He loved running jokes, gags, no matter how blue or how corny. He loved nicknames for his daughter and all his friends.

Dan loved the simple ritual of lighting a fire in a fireplace. He loved what he referred to as a "constitutional," a rambling walk – either in the Moore Woods of the Avalonia Land Trust, or Haley Farm, or through Stonington Borough down to the point.

An avid sports fan, Dan loved the Red Sox and Patriots, and followed the English Premier League closely. His true sports love, though, was the lowly Raith Rovers Football Club, of Kirkcaldy, Fife Scotland, eventually getting to do some marketing work for the club in his later years.

But Dan's greatest love was his daughter, Isla, a sophomore at Colby where she's pursuing Global Studies. He nurtured in her a love of travel and the importance of being a global citizen by taking her on several international trips including to Turkey and Kazakhstan. After living in Paris together as a family for a year, he encouraged her to return to study abroad in France while in high school. He was always quick to share how proud he was of her, whether it was a tennis win or an academic achievement.

Dan burned brightly in his too-short life. He was gentle, kind, and a complete original. He was well loved by all who knew him, and he will be sorely missed. His friends and family would like to thank the nurses and doctors of the medical intensive care unit at Yale New Haven Hospital for the tremendous care they provided Dan in his last days.

A celebration of Dan's life will be announced in the spring.

Gifts in Dan's memory can be directed to the Stonington Free Library Association 20 High Street PO Box 23 Stonington, CT 06378, or to Bowdoin College at https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/75753/donations/new.