Melissa Gail Daston

Melissa Gail Daston, known as “Moe” to friends and family, died after a long illness at her home in Laurel, Maryland on June 9, 2024, aged 69. Born on September 8, 1954, in Brockton, Massachusetts, she was the third child of Paul G. Daston and Marie Arhondy Daston. She grew up in North Carolina and Maryland, graduating from Duke University in 1976. She later earned M.A. (1978), M.B.A. (1980), and M.S. (1987) degrees, all from the University of Maryland at College Park, where she later taught courses on marketing. She worked for many years at the Department of Defense, ultimately serving as the Director of Human Capital for the Defense Intelligence Agency. In 2010, she was a recipient of the Presidential Rank Award, the nation’s highest honor for federal civil servants. She was also active in community service groups in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Her kindness and generosity to colleagues, neighbors, friends, and family were legendary, as was her dedication to any task she undertook. She is survived by her siblings, Cassandra Daston of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, George Daston and his wife Maryellen of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Lorraine Daston and her husband Gerd Gigerenzer of Berlin, Germany, as well as by her nieces Thalia Gigerenzer and Terra Shepherd, nephews Charles and John Daston, grand-niece Athena Chan and grand-nephews Leif Shepherd-Milner and Leo Chan.

The family requests that no flowers be sent. Donations made in Melissa’s memory to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or to the Southern Poverty Law Center would be most welcome.