Victor Mandell Dare

Victor Mandell Dare was born in Baltimore, Maryland on August 30, 1946 to the late Frances and Charles Dare. He attended Douglass High School, where he majored in general studies. Upon graduation in 1965, Victor worked for Bethlehem Steel and the University of Maryland Hospital System, and did a short stint in Iowa as a manager for a large retail company. When her returned to Baltimore, Victor settled into his true passion as a carpenter and handyman. He was a member of the Handyman Club of America, and used his craft to make improvements to the Jessup Correctional System and the New Union Baptist Church. In April 1965, Victor married May “Mousey” Elaine Jackson. Victor and Mousey were blessed with four lovely daughters, Deitrice, twins Kim and Kear, and Rolanda. Victor Dare – son, brother, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle and friend – was a man with many idiosyncrasies who loved his hats, tennis shoes and jeans. He was an avid reader of newspapers and enjoyed playing and watching sports. But his biggest simple pleasure of life was the game show “Jeopardy”. He loved watching that show and guessing the answers (he was usually right). There was something very charming and infectious about Victor. He always made the people around him feel good. One of his favorite, and most popular habits was to call out to his daughters and sisters, “Little Girl… Little Girl!’ The journey through life was not an easy one for Victor. He lost his beloved wife Mousey at an early age, only to lose his daughter Kim in 2007. In 2008, Victor suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on his right side, but he fought back from that ordeal and managed o become very mobile. More health issues plagued him when he began losing his eyesight due to glaucoma. Once again, Victor took this in stride and continued to march forward with his life. The final blow to Victor’s health occurred in 2011 when he was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Now, this was a true test of Victor’s strength, faith and character. No one could have imagined Victor to survive eleven months with such a critical illness. He celebrated his 66th birthday on August 30th, happily eating his corned beef sandwich and cheesecake at Gilchrist Hospice Care. Five days after celebrating his birthday, Victor succumbed to his illness after many months of valiant efforts. Victor M. Dare departed this life on September 5, 2012. He will be sorely missed by: his daughters, Deitrice, Keah and Rolanda; his five grandchildren, Willie, Nicole, Anthony, Dwayne and Rachaunda; and four great-grandchildren, Martiaz, Nasir, Derrick and Kalyn; his brother, Charles, and sisters, Barbara and Elsie; his partner, Edith; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Tributes

Victor Mandell Dare

August 30, 1946 - September 5, 2012