As Dan Lange’s family and friends mourn his death, his unselfish support of others shines through their memories of him.

Lange, 58, who was vice president of instruction at Blue Mountain Community College, died Tuesday after battling brain cancer for two and a half years. His wife Karen said she can’t say enough about what a supportive, loving husband Dan was throughout their 36 years of marriage.

“He always looked out for me,” she said.

In 2013 Karen needed a lot of looking after. She spent two months in the hospital after a brutal, random attack by transient Lukah Chang, who fractured her skull with a metal pipe and left her laying in the brush along Pendleton’s river walkway for 13 hours. Doctors told Dan her chances of survival didn’t look good, but he doggedly helped them nurse her back to health and normal brain function.

A few months later adversity struck again as Dan began experiencing bouts of extreme dizziness, which led to the discovery of lesions in his brain that had metastasized from his kidneys.

Karen said Dan was a very positive person, even through his cancer. She said he was a wonderful father, and it makes her sad to see her sons Adam, 25, and Jason, 22, lose their dad right as they were at an age where they were really starting to watch him and try to model their lives after his.

He really loved his family, she said, and wanted to look after them, which is why she believes he clung to life so tenaciously in his final days.

“He just fought so hard, I think for me,” she said. “I finally had to talk to him and say, you know, if you go, I’ll be OK.”

Karen believes she will be reunited with Dan in the next life, a belief he shared. The family are members of the Free Methodist Church in Pendleton and Karen said their faith has provided peace and comfort during their trials.

Scott Little, the Langes’ pastor, said the couple was already a “steady and faithful” presence at the Free Methodist Church when he arrived 17 years ago, and they frequently served on the church’s leadership council and led worship services on Sundays.

He said Dan was a “tremendously gifted saxophone player” who used his musical talents to bless the congregation, and that he always admired Dan’s humility and sense of humor.

“I really appreciated his wisdom over the years,” Little said.

He said Dan and Karen have always been examples of service, grace, and love of the Lord and those around them. He said through their trials over the last three years they kept a positive attitude.

“Even in the worst of this, it was hard to know just how difficult it was for Dan physically, because he just didn’t complain,” Little said. “… There wasn’t any sense that he was bitter or angry.”

Cam Preus, president of BMCC, said Dan’s 30-year career at the college was an illustrious one.

“He left a strong mark on the college,” she said.

He started out as a music faculty member but as he moved up to his final position as vice president of instruction he helped create better assessments and curriculum through his skill of analyzing data.

“He loved to put seemingly unrelated information into a database and mess around with formulas, and then realize when it was all put together that there were connections and patterns,” she said.

Preus said he was calm, patient, a good listener and a “friend to many at the college.”

The family has not finalized a date and time yet for Dan’s memorial service. The East Oregonian will publish one when the details are confirmed.

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Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.