Obituary of Dana Lee Whyte

South Hadley- Dana Lee Feldshuh Whyte, 82, passed away October 16, 2021 peacefully in her home while her son was visiting. She was born on February 10, 1939 in Kingston, New York to the late Alfred M. and Constance B. (McMullen) Feldshuh. She grew up in Kerhonkson, NY where everyone knew her name. Making house calls in the Borscht Belt with her father, a country doctor, was formative. She met lifelong friends (and a future husband) at Mount Holyoke College and graduated in 1960. She earned her MD (and met her first husband) at the University of Michigan. After moving to Atlanta, she was adored as an anesthesiologist at Northside Hospital where patients and surgeons alike trusted her soothing voice as she drifted her patients to sleep and back again. After thirty years at Northside, Dana was the first Woman of Honor at the annual Northside Hospital Ball. In retirement, Dana returned to South Hadley to nurture old friendships while effortlessly connecting with those more familiar with digital than analog. Her devotion to class reunions made the Class of 1960 very proud. Caring for others was the very core of Dana’s mission in this world. We’ll never know how many people she’s supported over the years. We do know that she cared for dogs of all shapes, sizes, temperaments, and numbers of legs, often up to 5 at a time (dog number, not leg number). They have been patiently waiting to see her again. In her leisure time, Dana explored wild and exotic places, read books and showed rescue animals that love was still possible. Of course, she had suggestions for her own obituary written down…She lived, she laughed, she loved…sometimes. She was a class act. Besides her parents, Dana was preceded in death by two former husbands, Roger Cook and Curtis Smith. She will be forever missed by her son, David Cook and his wife, Patti Crouch-Cook, of Tacoma, WA.; grandchildren, Noah and Orion Cook, Diane, Josh and Maddie Meason; sister, Lana Master and husband Stephen LaFalce, of AZ.; nephews, Todd and Drew Master; older step-grandchildren including Charles and Jes Collett; as well as many extended family and friends. Services will be arranged at the family's discretion next Spring. In lieu of flowers, donations in Dana's memory may be made to Girls Inc of the Valley in Holyoke, MA or Dakin Animal Shelter in Springfield, MA or your local library. She’d want the love to spread far and wide.