Marc Stuart Elson

The world lost the most amazing and compassionate human this week. Our dad has always been our rock, inspiration, and hero. His ethics were impeccable and he always acted from a place of fairness. He treated everyone with respect and never said anything bad about anyone. Many who knew him well describe him as a saint- because of his patience and calm demeanor, no matter what storm was happening around him. His patients from his practice knew him as gentle, painless, and "the dentist with the funny ties." Our dad's instinct for listening and knowing what people needed was unparalleled. He was brilliant, but humble. He wouldn't mention his PhD in addition to his DDS- but his intellegence shown through in his wit, puns, dad jokes, trival pursuit prowess, and ability to help his kids with complex homework. Besides being a dentist, he also was a passionate videographer- volunteering to video shows, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and other life events- because he loved it. He used his metal working skills from dentistry to design jewelry (including our parents wedding rings) and to do lights/sound for shows (he started to be in the theater with us- but stayed because he became part of the community). He would sometimes drive 100 miles in an afternoon, shuttling us to activities. We will miss his warm hugs, inside jokes, Groucho Marx impressions, quacking (he could speak "duck"), and sage advice. We are grateful for being able to spend the last four years with him in Boston. The world is a better place because of him. We cannot begin to express the magnitude of this loss. We love him more than anything. Thank you all for loving him too. It was the easiest thing in the world to do.