OCC teacher Dan Scanlon, 58, dies

Michael Miller

Erin Scanlon remembers her father, Dan, as a reserved man who didn’t

look for praise. After his death, however, she came upon a poignant

symbol of his life.

On March 20, Dan Scanlon, an Orange Coast College instructor for

32 years, died unexpectedly from heart failure at the age of 58. Soon

afterward, Erin flew home from Ohio to clean out her father’s campus

office. Amid his papers and other belongings, she found a letter that

a student had written him in 1992, thanking him for his help.

“It was in his retirement file,” Erin said. “He must have just

stuck it in there.”

Scanlon, in his only daughter’s memory, made little of his own

accomplishments. He had chaired OCC’s mathematics department for

several years before his death, but most of his family members didn’t

even know about his position. He had been a referee instructor in the

American Youth Soccer Organization for two decades, but he shrugged

it off as “a little exercise.” Small talk wasn’t his style.

“With me, he didn’t like interaction,” Erin recalled. “He didn’t

like to say, ‘I love you,’ but he always showed people he loved them

by his actions.”

When Scanlon’s colleagues held a memorial service for him

Saturday, though, it was clear that there was more than one side to

him. Some remembered him as a hardworking professor and coach. Others

recalled a board member who wasn’t afraid to ask tough questions.

Still others, despite his sometimes quiet nature, remembered him for

his wicked sense of humor.

“Dan was a teacher in everything he did,” said Jim Cowart, an AYSO

who knew Scanlon for many years.

A mathematics instructor who specialized in calculus, Scanlon

earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in math at UC Irvine, and

served as a teaching assistant there for four years before moving to

OCC. He joined the staff in 1973 as an instructional associate in

math, became a part-time math instructor the following year, and won

full-time status in 1977. Since 2002, he had been the chair of the

Mathematics Department.

In addition to his teaching work, Scanlon earned a national

reputation as a referee trainer for the AYSO -- a volunteer job. He

began when his daughter entered soccer in the first grade, but stayed

on even after she left. In recent years, he had trained not only

referees, but also people who wanted to be referee instructors.

“The first word that comes to my mind is fair, and fun,” said

Debbie Dakouzlian, an AYSO referee who took a training class from

Scanlon in February at El Toro High School. “He taught us how to keep

our cool. He taught us how to be organized, and he always taught us

to have a good sense of humor.”

Scanlon’s colleagues in both school and soccer expressed

astonishment at his death. In recent weeks, he had seemed in perfect

health. Stan Johnson, the dean of mathematics and sciences at OCC,

said he last spoke to Scanlon the night before his death and then

sent a colleague down to the professor’s house last Tuesday morning

when Scanlon hadn’t shown up to work.

“This was sudden and unexpected,” Johnson said. “His loss leaves a

large void in our department and our division of the college.”

Johnson described Scanlon as “a solid, straightforward teacher who

always presented concepts in a clear, well-organized manner that

every student could follow,” adding that “he was one of those

teachers who I could always refer students to because I knew that it

would work for them.”

Bob Dees, the vice president of instruction at the college, worked

with Scanlon on a curriculum committee years ago and remembered him

as a consummate professional.

“He was always the type to keep us on our toes,” Dees said. “He

would ask a precise, exacting question, but it would be the right

one.”

With OCC students currently on spring break, Johnson said the math

department is searching for a replacement to finish Scanlon’s current

semester of classes. Next year, the college plans to introduce the

Daniel E. Scanlon Memorial Scholarship to benefit math students. In

addition, the AYSO is dedicating this year’s Ken Aston Cup, a

tournament for referee teams, to its late colleague.

Apart from his daughter, Scanlon is survived by two brothers, Pat

and Craig, and a sister, Marianne. At the time of his death, he was

divorced and living alone.

“He was a man,” Erin said, “who did a tremendous amount with his

life in the years he had.”