He was an outstanding track runner and anchored the state record, 880-yard relay team that went to the New Englands, representing Maine that year. He also finished second in the Maine Schoolboy golf tournament and was runner-up in the Maine Junior Championship for 1955.
Dan was awarded a Naval NROTC Scholarship and attended the University of South Carolina, where he attained a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering. He earned six varsity letters in track, cross country and golf. He was admitted to the prestigious “Block C” Club. Dan belonged to the “Sigma Phi Epsilon” fraternity where he was the president and received other campus honors.
Dan was commissioned after graduation as an Ensign in the United States Navy and spent three years on the East Coast and Mediterranean Sea on destroyers serving as Engineering Officer. He left the service and worked as a patent examiner at the United States Patent Office. In 1964, Dan rejoined the Navy and was stationed at the Bureau of Naval Personnel. He went to law school at night for four years and graduated from Catholic University Law School in 1966. He took the Maine Bar Exam that year and finished first.
In 1966 he joined Duane “Buzz” Fitzgerald in a law practice in Bath that lasted for over 20 years, leaving in 1986 to join the First Federal Savings as president and CEO, until his retirement. He continued on the Board of Directors as chairman.
Dan’s contributions to the city of Bath have been many, he has served on the boards of the YMCA, Maine Maritime Museum, president of the Sagadahoc Preservation, president of the Bath Water District, Bath Country Club, Jesse Albert Dental Clinic, Bailey Evening School Advisory Board, Bath School Board, Bath Chamber of Commerce, Maine State Chamber of Commerce, treasurer of the Bath Memorial Hospital, president of the Maine Savings & Loan Association, chairman of the Bath Customs House, chairman of the Morse Vocational School Building Committee, chairman of the Bath Housing Authority and the chairman of the First Federal Savings. Dan was a member of the Maine Bar Association, a member and president of the Sagadahoc Bar Association and also a member of the Civil Rules committee. He held many professional licenses as an attorney at law, a real estate Realtor and a real estate appraiser.
Dan is survived by his wife, Catherine Dupuis-Tait; his daughters, Jennifer Eaglesham and her husband David and their children, Eric, Anna and Will; Liza Donovan; and Sarah Douglass and her husband Scott, and their children, Jack, Donovan and Margaret; his brother, Robert and his wife Suzie of Woolwich; and his nephew Mark Donovan and his wife Brigid and their sons, Michael and Matthew; and niece Laurie Donovan and a cousin, Janice Murphy.
In lieu of flowers, the family wishes are, if you would like to make a memorial donation in Dan’s memory they may be made to the Warren Higgins Scholarship Fund, C/O First Federal Savings, P.O. Box 488, Bath, ME 04530.
Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014, from 6 to 8 p.m. at David E. Desmond & Son Funeral Home, 638 High St., Bath. A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Friday, Oct. 3, 2014, at 11 a.m. at All Saints Parish, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 144 Lincoln St., Bath.
To share your thoughts and condolences with the family, please visit www.desmondfuneralhomes.com.
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