Dr. Dana Christian Lynge, a Seattle general surgeon who combined a dry Nordic wit with a love of the wilderness, died on June 21 while on an overnight backpacking trip with his wife, Dr. Martha Johnson, to see the summer solstice in the Cascade Range.

He was 68 years old and a longtime associate professor of surgery at the University of Washington based at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System.

Dana was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1956, where his father, Dr. Harold Norman Lynge, whose parents had emigrated from Denmark to Canada, was in a two-year surgical residency.

Dana often cited an incident in his infancy when his parents, living in a small apartment in the city and hosting guests who were smoking during a party, swaddled the baby Lynge in a basket and hung him outside the window. Dana liked to refer to this event as stunting his social development and initiating a lifelong feeling of neglect and isolation. He’d make that claim with a straight face, but it was clear to both his father and his mother, Patricia Govier Lynge, that it was the dry Lynge wit at work.

After moving home to Canada, Dana’s parents relocated to San Jose, California where Harold practiced neurosurgery. Dana attended St Andrews Episcopal school in Saratoga and grew up with his younger brother Eric in the idyllic Santa Cruz mountains. At age 13, Dana was sent to St John’s School for Boys boarding school in Canada where he gained outdoor survival skills and got his first taste of harsh Canadian winters. Dana attended The Thacher School in Ojai, California, graduating in 1974, where he excelled in sports and academics.

He was accepted at Stanford University, class of 1978, and started in pre-law, but soon decided to follow his father into the medical profession. Still, he completed the English major that fostered a lifelong interest in literature. No novel was too long or too dense or too obscure for him to finish and then send copies to friends with his recommendation. Dana received his medical degree from the McGill University Faculty of Medicine in Montreal, which his father had also attended. While there, Dana worked as a physician in the Arctic north serving the First Nation Inuit population.

During his surgery residency at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, he traveled to various conflict zones in the world to hone his medical skills and fulfill his ever-present wanderlust. He spent time with Médecins Sans Frontiers in Pakistan and Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, worked in the ER in Derry, Northern Ireland during “the troubles” and staffed a hospital in the Kenyan Rift Valley.

In 1995, Dana married Dr. Martha Johnson, an anesthesiologist and fellow medical professional. They set out on a 7-month honeymoon — driving from Seattle to Massachusetts to visit Martha’s family for Christmas, flying to Europe to compete in marathon cross-country ski races, then heading to Nepal to work as doctors for a climbing expedition to Mt Pumori. They ended their trip in Fiji, exploring and surfing.

Following the birth of their son, Bjorn, in 1999 and daughter, Claire, in 2003, Dana and Martha decided to move from Seattle to Vashon Island to raise their children in a rural environment. Dana commuted to work by ferry and bicycle in both fair and inclement weather. He enjoyed working on the family’s small farm, coaching both kids’ recreational soccer teams, and swimming in the Puget Sound. He also enjoyed traveling with his family to faraway places like Zambia, Patagonia, and Nepal.

Dana eschewed the formalities of academic institutional medicine and was known for patrolling the halls in scrubs and Crocs. He focused on his vocation, which for him not only included surgery and caring for his patients, but also learning about each and every veteran’s story. He was renowned in the hospital community for his tales, quips and satire, as well as the memorable nicknames he bestowed on most colleagues and friends. To be teased by Dr Lynge was the highest form of affection.

Recently, Dana and the UW Department of Surgery initiated a Rural Surgery Program in partnership with the Billings Clinic to provide general surgery residents with education in rural surgery and serve rural communities in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. This program continues Dana’s lifelong dedication to bringing surgical care to remote communities and helping those in need.

Dana is survived by his wife Martha, son Bjorn, daughter Claire and younger brother Eric.

To help us bring to fruition his vision for improving rural surgery training, a donation can be made in Dana’s name to the University of Washington Rural Surgery program at gofund.me/29a3b8c0.