It is with beyond heavy hearts that G.L.E.A. Inc. must inform our Lakes of Fire family that 2010′s Leave No Trace Team Lead, Ryan “Quest” Dunn, passed from this life on the morning of June 30th.
We send our deepest condolences to his wife Tiffany; his family and friends from Illinois and Southwest Michigan; and to the many Burners and non-Burners alike, from all over; who were touched by this eminently sincere, humble, and sweet soul, whom we called Quest.
Quest radiated a quiet intensity. He smiled often, worked incredibly hard, and was about the easiest to person to like you could ever meet. He was awed by life, and in turn he awed so many of us back. Whatever are the opposites of arrogant, or self-righteous; Quest was these things, to the extreme. His gracefully down-to-earth charm and sense of humor were a breath of fresh air, and he will be deeply, deeply missed.
When G.L.E.A. Inc. and Lakes of Fire first came to the Willow Ranch, Quest was among the employees connected to the land. Impressed by what he saw at Lakes of Fire 2009, he was convinced to visit Burning Man that year, and returned to Lakes of Fire 2010 as LNT Team Lead – a difficult and often thankless task that requires you to work lots of long hours when everyone else is leaving the place, exhausted. He performed the task with his typical grace and gusto, quietly and quickly making sure our footprint disappeared. Other event volunteers were amazed that the job was done so early – many of us left hours before we thought we would be able to.
Quest got it done, and he did so with a smile. He was a born collaborator.
To make a donation to Tiffany and the Dunn family, please click on the Paypal button below. Please note the G.L.E.A. Inc. will pass along 100% of your donations.
Quest we love you.
Enjoy the light, as we so enjoyed yours.
His smile was contagious and was willing to drop anything he was working on to lend a hand. LOF 2010 was my first burn event and Quest made it very inviting and easy to belong too. His spirt will be greatly missed but never forgotten.
Wow… My deepest condolences to those that were close to him. I am very sorry for the loss of such an amazing person. My his soul live on for ever.
Even though I only met Ryan this year, my heart is heavy, my body in shock and my mind in disbelief.
When discussing with neighboring campers whether or not there was a LNT/EG group at LoF, I was immediately told to “Go talk to Ryan, and make sure you call him Ryan Seacrest”. Afraid I may be walking into a trap, I asked the group “Are you sure that’s ok, he won’t get mad?” The group responded that “there is no way he will get mad, he’s a great guy and you’ll really like him and he will set you up with LNT/EG”.
They were right! He welcomed me into the LNT/EG ranks Saturday night with a smile even as I went on and on praising my recycling abilities (I get chatty when tipsy).
Sunday afternoon he stopped by in his golf cart. We chatted a bit, I gave him my last brat and thanked him for his hard work and efforts with LNT/EG. He said “I’ll see ya next year” and drove off……………I will miss him next year.