Our Association lost our President, Dan (Daniel) Dumouchelle in August due to a tragic traffic accident. To honour his memory, we would like to pay tribute to him through the sport of bowling and witnessed firsthand through the eyes of Melissa Beaton which follows:

Nothing seems to be grand enough to capture what a terrific guy Dan was. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Dan for almost 20 years, when I started bowling in his Four Play league. But our friendship really started to grow when my son Cameron joined his youth bowling program at Bowlero in 2009.

Dan was the sitting President of the Windsor Essex Chatham-Kent Bowling Association as well as 2nd Vice President of the Ontario Ten Pin Bowling Association. He was WECKBA Youth Committee Chairperson and Tournament Director for 4 years and part of the OTBA Youth Committee for 2 years. He was the founder and Secretary-Treasurer for the Four Play League for 20 years.

As was beautifully written in his obituary, Dan was most proud of the Unifor 444 Junior Bowling program where he spent more than three decades building youth confidence, sportsmanship, comradery and awarding as many scholarships as he possibly could.

He was more than just a fierce leader in the bowling community; his love for his family was evident and he led by example.

Dan lived and breathed for the success of this sport, and his greatest joy came from watching our kids thrive. He was a tireless advocate for youth bowlers in our area, always pushing for their growth and success.

Dan had the foresight last season to start up sponsorships and just this summer alone we have received $4775 dollars in sponsorship. His goal was to award scholarships at every tournament we were holding this year. This season being a particularly special year as it’s the 60th Annual Youth Division Championship Bowling Tournaments. I believe with the efforts he started; we will make that dream come true.

If you had the privilege of knowing him, you understand just how much Unifor 444 and youth bowling in our area meant to him. His passion was truly infectious.

Dan’s dedication and enthusiasm for this sport,will never be forgotten. I was honoured to stand beside my friend and help turn his vision into reality. He was always thinking of ways to make our programs bigger and better. I like to joke – if Michelle (Bryant) was his right hand, I was his left. Whatever he needed us to do – we were more than happy to do it, because his priority was always kids first.

Dan so wanted to have 100 bowlers in his program this season and it seems only appropriate that yesterday we have surpassed that number. He would be over the moon about that.

I would like to share with you some of the messages we’ve received. I hope Dan knew the impact he had for our youth will leave a lasting impression:

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Will forever remember and respect this amazing man! Always did the right thing when it came to the kids! He taught me a lot about life and how to treat people its time for our bowling family nucleus to step up and continue down the path Dan setup for us. Full confidence that we got this in our bags!! Let’s make him proud!

Dan was an amazing mentor and leader in the bowling community especially the youth bowling program. He devoted his life to creating a bowling program where children can thrive, learn and have fun. Our children are better people for having been a part of such an incredible program and that is all thanks to Dan.

Forever grateful to this man!! Dan is irreplaceable but has brought together our bowling family and will watch over us.

Having only gotten to know Dan this past year, the impact in such a short time with our son was incredible. Dan was the type of person this world needs more of. He will be missed but his impact will never be forgotten.

Dan was an amazing mentor and devoted coach. In the year plus we knew him, we grew to be very fond of him personally and respected him greatly. He led an incredible program for our youth and Devon has flourished because of it.

No words to express our gratitude for what’s Dan’s welcome to the league, through Gavin’s initial connection did for John. Life changing moments he mastered for us. Seeing the magic, he created for all our youth and hearing his passion to ensure youth bowling continued was outstanding.

He will surely be remembered for his dedication and passion towards all the kids in the league.

There are no words. Dan is an amazing man. His heart and dedication over the years have left marks with so many.

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I can tell you that over the last several weeks we’ve had many conversations that echo the same sentiment. This was the essence of Dan. His generosity, love and commitment were evident to all who knew him.

If I could offer some advice to not only his family, but our bowling family as well – let’s continue to talk about Dan and celebrate his accomplishments. We will keep his spirit alive not only for us but also for future generations of young bowlers.

I would like to make a promise to Dan’s family and our larger bowling family – Brent (Rankin) and I know we will never be able to fill his shoes – but we will always strive to make him proud and you proud to be part of the Unifor 444 Junior Bowling program!

And I also pledge to continue what Dan started for our Windsor Essex Chatham-Kent Youth Bowling Association.

I will miss my partner – we made a hell of a team.

I will miss his phone calls– never a hello, always a Melissa Beaton.

I have a new appreciation for the organized chaos of his briefcase, thank you Sydney (Dumouchelle) for entrusting me with it.

I will miss our early morning drives from Windsor to Chatham for tournaments.

I will miss his larger-than-life presence and will try my best to always make what he envisioned for youth bowling my priority.

Most importantly I will miss my friend.

As we start this bowling season, I find comfort in knowing that he is with us in spirit, cheering us all on. Dan’s legacy will forever be a part of our Hall of Fame, and his memory will continue to inspire us.

Thank you, Dan, for everything you gave to this sport and to all of us. You will always be missed, but never forgotten.

Melissa Beaton (Guest Writer for WECKBA)