Amherst, Daniel G. Bress, 63, passed away overnight on October 3^rd, 2017 in his apartment in North Amherst, MA.

Daniel was a man of tremendous good will and a benevolent nature. He spoke in quips and self-deprecating jokes at every opportunity, but he was sincerely helpful to anyone who asked and endlessly thoughtful about the ways of the world.

He was also very private, cherishing his long walks in the early morning solitude of North Amherst and the patient magic of a darkroom. He was relentlessly observant and enjoyed the musings of other great watchers and wonderers like Stephen Wright and George Carlin, who informed much of his sense of humor. His cameras allowed him to be both present and apart anywhere he went. His photographs were his commentary on the world around him, especially when they were only to say, “This is beautiful,” or more often, “This is weird!” He graduated from Hallmark Institute of Photography in 2008 as a Professional Photographer.

Dan was fascinated by nature and, whether he was a child bringing home pockets stuffed full of rocks and worms, a young man walking his sons through his backyard garden to pick and eat fresh onions and radishes from the ground, or an adult pruning his bonsai trees and reading long books on fungi, he never stopped marveling at the miraculous cycle of growth, death, decay, and rebirth. He surrounded himself with plants everywhere he went and tried to share their comfort with others whenever he could. He graduated from the UMass University Without Walls in 2007 as a Master Gardener with a BA in Horticultural Presentation.

He was also fond of traveling and took many cruises with his partner Deb. His desire to peek into different lives and cultures was insatiable, and he reveled in the opportunity to start a conversation with a total stranger over the dinner table. More than anything though, he loved to sit in the heat of the sun and the smell of the salt water air.

Dan was the beloved father of and is survived by his son James Bress and his wife Julia Boisvert Bress of West Hartford, CT; his son Joseph Bress of Boston, MA; and his former wife, Susan Pynchon of Amherst, MA. He is also survived by his partner Deborah Lacasse of Holyoke, MA; his mother Dolores Carretta and sister Christine Groll of Stephentown, NY; and his nieces Michelle and Nicole Hoffman.

A public memorial service will be held at the Douglass Funeral Service in Amherst, MA at 10:00am on October 21^st. In lieu of flowers, donations in Daniel’s memory may be made to The Red Cross or the Massachusetts Nature Conservancy.