Obituary of Dawn Kristeen Sport

Dawn Kristeen Sport quietly fell asleep in the Lord at the age of 48, at her home in Liberty Lake, Washington, on October 13, 2022. Dawn was born on May 12, 1974 in Willoughby, OH. Dawn grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating from Winton Woods High School in 1992. In Junior and Senior High School, Dawn played the trumpet in the Youth Brass Choir of the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, as well as Marching Band, Concert Band, and Orchestra in High School. Dawn attended the Stephen Collins Foster Music Camp at Eastern Kentucky University for six years. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1996 with a B.S. degree in Biology. She subsequently attended Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), working toward a M.S. degree in Organic Chemistry. Dawn worked as a scientist and regulatory affairs specialist in several positions within the Pharmaceutical Industry. She worked at Alcon Laboratories as a Pharmaceutical Development Formulator and as an Analytical Chemist. At Cardinal Health she worked as a Regulatory Submissions Scientist. Her last position was as a manager of Regulatory Affairs at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Dawn was a highly valued team member at Cardinal Health and at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and was promoted generously in keeping with her exemplary work ethic and her kind but effective manner of dealing with high priority, short timeline Pharmaceutical Regulatory submissions worth hundreds of millions of dollars in sales to those corporations. She was known for her astute professional judgment, amazing recall of relevant scientific and regulatory information, generosity in helping her colleagues, mentoring new team members, and her unique sense of humor. Dawn’s hobbies included travelling with her husband to many destinations of extraordinary natural beauty in the western U.S., hiking, and cooking. She was a dog enthusiast, and participated in Schutzhund competition in Florida, and was actively involved with Akita Rescue groups in Texas and throughout the U.S. Dawn was the proud owner of an Akita dog rescued by Lone Star Akita Rescue in Texas, and a Papillon dog. Dawn helped many homeless animals find new and loving homes through this rescue work. Dawn converted to Orthodox Christianity and married her husband, Rex Clark Sport, on November 1, 2015 at St. Barbara Orthodox Church in Ft. Worth, Texas. Dawn was an active and beloved member of the St. Barbara Orthodox Church community until moving out of state with her husband. She and Rex attended several Orthodox parishes in Washington and northern Idaho until the pandemic and her declining health made such visitations impossible. Dawn had previously been a member of the United Methodist Church. Dawn is survived by her husband, Rex Sport, Liberty Lake, Washington; her son, Sean Pennington of Denver, Colorado; her daughter, Julia and her son-in-law Dillon Conway of Corvallis, Oregon; her brother, Dean Morrison and sister-in-law Caren of Greenville, South Carolina; her sister, Dana Matt and brother-in-law Mark of Jamestown, Ohio; her parents, Keith and Jean (Summers) Morrison of Cincinnati, Ohio; her grandfather, Albert Summers of Sandusky, Ohio; numerous aunts and uncles, three nephews, two nieces, and one great-nephew. Dawn was preceded in death by her grandparents, Charlotte Morrison, T. L. Morrison, Jr., and Ruth Summers of Ohio; as well as her nephew Kelsey Matt of Ohio. Those who knew Dawn well will always remember her kind and loving heart, and her generous and helpful disposition. She was always willing to help those in need. As a Christian, Dawn took up her cross with great faith, bravery, and without complaint suffering the extreme pain and progressive disability of the illness that finally took her life. If asked how she was doing, even by her doctors and nurses, Dawn would inevitably reply “Hanging in there.” Through prayer and faith, Dawn came to accept her impending death. She was never selfish and demonstrated only love and concern for those of her family and friends from whom she was to be parted for a while. Dawn was very thankful for all of those who helped us or prayed for us, and there were many who did so, and continue to do so…family, friends, neighbors, nurses and doctors, in the Christian community in many parts of the nation, laity, clergy, and monastics, as well as friends or colleagues of different faiths. Dawn’s march to Golgotha was filled with heartbreaking suffering, but endured with love and faith in the Way of the Cross, and in the resurrection through our Lord Jesus Christ. May her Memory be Eternal. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116)