In Memoriam: Doris "Tanta" Dungey
Submitted by
CalculatedRisk on Sun, 12/07/2008 - 9:43pm (66 comments)
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CR, as a said before, you labor from true love.
Thanks for putting it all together in one spot.
sportsfan, I've finally removed Tanta's email address and replaced it with a link to this post (in the menu bar).
Best to all.
this is the best way to carry out the grieving process.
I reread the ubernerd posts again this weekend, made me smile and feel sad all over again.
CR, thanks for the pictures. That helps.
I think I'm past the grieving, because now I just feel incredibly lucky that I was able to read her stuff on the internet. Thanks CR for assembling her posts into one easy to access list. It is amazing (although it shouldn't be) how well her writing holds up to re-reading.
Zero, I think Cathy is sending me more photos - I'll them to this post.
Best to all.
CR-
Thanks for making the Compleat UberNerd easy to get to again :^)
I went looking for it and noticed it wasn't in the right hand side column as I remembered.
I like knowing more about Tanta/Doris, but I also enjoyed the mix of mystery, awe, anonymity, and personality she created over her many posts.
A beautiful tribute to your dear freind and colleague, CR. Thank you.
I've been a lurker mostly, and came late to the wisdom found here. Tanta's posts were everything you describe them to be and the two of you were the best source for sane analysis around.
I'm very, very sorry for your loss.
CR, as someone who's avidly been reading your work since the days of the "path in the woods" header I remember when Tanta announced that she'd been given the keys to the car. It was a giddy moment, she became the Lucy to your Ricky, or maybe Gracie to George Burns. She made your already outstanding work even richer with her insider perspective, rapier-wit and wacky sense of humor.
Thank you for everything you do for us, and I hope you're being taken care of in what must be difficult days for you. I can't imagine you could have seen where this blog would take you when you started it. While the path through the woods is gone from the header, it still reminds me that it's a long journey and none of us can foresee where it will take us, and how we will be changed along the way.
best regards,
94121 Jim
sdtfs,
You did a superb job on your remarks about Tanta and I'm happy to see those words receive prominent placement.
CR- did you ever meet her in person?
sdtfs, unfortunately no. She never felt up to it - although we talked for many many hours on the phone. She was as funny on the phone as she was in her posts. We just laughed for hours ...
Thanks again for your beautiful tribute to her!
94121 Jim, this blog has been a interesting journey for me. It has been exciting (although the news has been scary), and Tanta really added to the enjoyment. I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to share the last two years with her. It really was an honor for me.
Best to all.
Thanks sportsfan, although I cringe whenever I read it, 'cause I'd like to edit and say more and on and on. And I've had a little practice recently, my close friend died from leukemia, and he had some of the same traits, absolute fairness and courage. (He too had Midwestern roots and Mid-Atlantic residences.) I wish we could have someone like Orson Scott Card's 'Speaker for Dead', speak for her, but I guess her work speaks for itself.
sdtfs, Your words are most appropriate just as published. No editing needed.
FYI, I, too, cringe when looking at what I have written in the past and wonder how I could have let such slovenly work be released under my name. It's a curse.
Tanta's work was exceptional when published, but it now exists beyond the world of editing.
Goodnight.
Beautiful sd.
I am fairly new to this blog, but I appreciate its high quality. Am sorry to learn about the death of one of its authors. Condolences to those who knew her.
Here's hoping that CDS is sharing these posts with the rest of her family, as I'd hope that they would appreciate the outpouring of love and respect.
CR, thanks so much for the beautiful photos.
Much as I teased Tanta about the Proustian scope of those posts, really their length was born of her essential fairness to all parties and of her dedication to clarity.
Funny things - say, spacing an ellipsis properly - ambush me all the time. Well, you know.
It's was nice to find out more about her during the week as the obits filled in some details. (It's also nice to see more pictures of her.) As someone suggested on another thread; It would be nice to see a bio of her posted on Wikipedia.
It's ironic that had it not been for the illness she may not have had the time to contribute to CR and we may have never known of her. Although I presume she lived a rich and full life that far outweighed her contributions to CR, it's remarkable that she was able to leave such an indelible mark in so short a time. If someone had told her in 2005, "In a couple of years Krugman and The Fed will be quoting you," I'm going to guess she would have thought it crazy. Amazing place these internets.
Thank you for putting together the beautiful tribute.
I still have one burning question (and pardon me if this sounds flip, I just can't help being curious)
Where did the childhood nickname "Tanta" come from?
You seemed to indicate it means "auntie", which if applied to a 10 year old, makes me think of a Junior Ubernerd explaining that her sibling's request for a bicycle at Christmastime isn't properly documented, there is no safety plan, mom and dad have abdicated their responsibility for supervision ....
CR,
You posted a woman's driver's license photo on the web? You're lucky Tanta is not here to exact her retribution. You'd get quite the tongue (or keyboard) lashing.
Thanks though for connecting the person to the beloved name.
Just FYI there is a wikipedia entry ...
Doris Dungey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
.. basically what was in the NYT and WaPo.
I think that there is an entry for CR too.
John @ 7:12,
I believe both those wikipedia entries were put in last week as quick stubs by a member of the CR community.
Thanks for more photos CR, and sdtfs for the words to complete them.
A witticism of hers that that I always liked -- mostly because it was meant to be funny, but it was absolutely true: "I'm from The Blogs, and I'm here to help."
Best. Mission Statement. Ever.(umm...dare I ask for another t-shirt slogan..)
CR writes:
"I've finally removed Tanta's email address and replaced it with a link to this post (in the menu bar)."
Simply and beautifully poignant.
The woman even CR never met in person, the woman we only know through words on a screen: we grieve for weeks for her.
And the frail link we had to Tanta is gone.
It makes the all the news and all the numbers very small in comparison.
Thank you for the photos, CR! It does help to remember her as a whole person, and not just in text.
The guitar photo you have noted as 2002, but on the photo itself it says 2004?
Anyway - may her lively spirit carry on in those whose lives she has touched. May we all be a bit more critical of media articles, read between the lines more, carry ideas out to their logical conclusions, and not take everything at face value. And remember to keep humor thru it all. What more would she have wanted?
Wow.
CR,
Thanks for the tremendous amount of effort you put into the blog. We will all miss Tanta's work. But let me take this opportunity to thank you for educating us on one of the most important issues of the day for the last several years. For someone looking to buy a home, this is even more valuable.
I am grateful that her writing lives on; and I am encouraged that so many people followed her posts, from amateur investors to professional policy gurus.
Her "Collected Works" remain an invaluable resource, and the literary allusions and references help to make a complicated topic interesting and understandable, and on occasion, really, really funny! I looked forward to her posts, and I will have occasion to review them many times in the future.
Thanks, Tanta, and thank you CR.
Thanks CR
see you later T and thanks for the blogs
;o/
YouTube - Keep Me in Your Heart: Warren Zevon cover (LiliAna Rose)
Thanks CR. I miss Tanta.
You're a solid guy CR. Thank you for this.
Ubernerds now sadly have a patron saint. She lives on as an inspiration to clarity of thought and expression. Her relentless impatience with sloppy thinking was expressed with an insight and wit that I've rarely seen anywhere. Its a tribute to CR that she found a comfortable home as a guest blogger here. My condolences to everyone who, like me, finds themselves deeply touched by her loss.
I think about what mdv said all the time -- that if she hadn't been sick, we may not have gotten to know her at all. The thing that brought her to us is the thing that took her away.
Yep, there it is in the photo - Tant's trusty coffee cup. I'm sure her family could get big bucks for it for charity. Do I hear $1,000?
I am one of those who has been your reader here for years, but who don't have so much to say, so I have commented only a couple of times. I hadn't come here yet Saturday and Frank Rich's mention of Tanta hit me like a punch in the gut. Tanta has been a clear headed guide and teacher for me and many ohters on something of importance at a crucial time. I will miss her very much.
Thank you CR for putting together a lovely memorial to a truly unique person. This must be a very difficult time for you so please know many people's thoughts are with you.
sdtfs: your memoriam was so sincere, so clearly from your heart, and so beautifully written-- every word rang with honest and truthful appreciation.
You too did Tanta justice. Thank you.
mdv writes:
Although I presume she lived a rich and full life that far outweighed her contributions to CR, it's remarkable that she was able to leave such an indelible mark in so short a time Amazing place these internets .
Thats the paradox of blogging That one with such insight and talent could so freely be given a voice (a well-heard voice in her case) that she would not otherwise have had Yet, it is NOT indelible until it appears on the printed page In fifty years, will her name, or writings, still be remembered? Or will her wisdom be forever lost in cyberspace? Where is the permanence?
a fine, fine tribute to one so deserving. good job, CR.
and how beautiful she was
CR, you've been an absolute class act through all of this.
Thanks for putting this post together.
It is wonderful to have a place to come back to again and again for more of Tanta's writing. Thank you, CR.
I haven't seen mention yet here, but the LA Times also had Tanta's Obit online. She was born in Oxnard CA.
I came here by way of Irving Housing Blog, after Tanta was no longer posting. Such a sad loss.
Thank you, CR. Beauty and brains and humor. What a woman.
She lives in fond memory.
CR, Thank you so very much!
CR,thank you for the additional background information about Tanta. Tanta's readers miss her greatly. Not infrequently I thought of how enjoyable it would be to have lunch with Tanta. Now, I can no longer hold on to that wish (fantasy). Yet Tanta's writings, her message, will live on.
I really have to say I'm surprised how good looking Tanta was. For some reason her writing style and a nickname that means "Auntie" gave me a completely different mental picture.
Beautiful on the outside and on the inside.
I've mostly lurked and read for 2+ years and have enjoyed all of Tanta's posts. So sorry for your loss, her family's loss and ours as well. She was too damn young. Please continue your great site and thank you for the Memorial.
CR -- please nominate her writing. I think it fits the new criteria that include online news writers:
The Pulitzer Prizes | What's New
Thanks, CDS, for sending more pictures, and CR for posting them for us. It does help.
I am an irregular reader of this site, having first seen it in the fall of 2007 when the residential real estate finance crisis burst forth into the national discussion.
It was then that I decided to start my own piddling little blog about it, an effort that was sporadic and soon abandoned. I didn't know Tanta except by having run across her name, and a few of her (I assume) "uber nerd" postings.
Thank you for her picture, and for bringing her life to life. I am sorry for your loss. You, and others who knew her, have my real sympathy. You have reminded me that they're not just words on a screen.
Thank you.
AS TIME PASSES MORE PEOPLE WILL REALIZE WHAT A PURE TREASURE THIS WOMAN WAS(IS).THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND INSIGHT .
her posts beat some of The Economist's articles, even though that publication never went overboard with optimism (dismal scientists they are, you know)...she passed away too early
I wish Tanta was around to comment on the Bernie Madoff fiasco - that'd be some worthy prose!
When concert promoter Live Nation Inc. inked a 12-year deal with the band U2, they promised to pay part of their deal in stock, and guaranteed U2 $25 million in proceeds. But U2 has now decided to sell the shares when theyre worth only about $6 million, handing Live Nation a $19 million loss.
I have been out of touch for weeks. Just got back. Wow, what a shocker! She will be missed.......
Hey there CR,
Was there ever an interview with Doris Dungey, or a voice to go with Tanta?
CR
Was there ever an interview with Doris Dungey, or a voice to go with Tanta?
So much of what passes for blogs these days are more so commercial site-lite. This very personal and heartfelt post about one who was so well-versed & dedicated to providing the truth is as refreshing as it is depressing; sounds like Tanta was the Gilda Radner of housing finance. Without even knowing her previous, I will now miss that sort of clear beacon in such a confusing global finance situaiton. Thank you for such an extensive insight into her life & work.
Wow. Oh wow.
That picture of her has been nagging at me for months. I could not figure out why it looked familiar. I was killing time today, looking at her old posts trying to find something, and came across here obit mentioning her English degree from UW-Madison & teaching there. I also am an 80s UW_madison English Literature 80s alum. I just realized I actually knew "Tanta" personally ... I think I even hung out with her at the Union once or twice or thrice (as a group).
Now I am doubly sad
I can't say we were close or even that I remember here that clearly, but I am left with a positive impression of her even from that time, without all the "Tanta" aspect.
My deep, belated condolences to the Dungey family. Please know that where she traveled, she made a difference.
In one article Tanta wrote, she has made a difference in my Life. I regret not have known her when she was here. Her talent will be miss. She was truly special.
God Bless
I had wondered what became of Tantra. That was a beautiful obit. It seems too true that only the good die young.
I have learned so much from Calculated Risk. Just six months ago I started reading about our economic problems but get the rss feed in a reader. Today I clicked over to the site and explored the Tanta material. I was moved, inspired and deeply grateful.