Dara Lynn Miles, a nonprofit founder, investigative freelance journalist, lawyer, and television news reporter, died September 14, 2024, at her home in Boulder with her loved ones at her bedside. She was 69 years old.
Her death came more than a year after her diagnosis with metastatic pancreatic cancer; a year she spent traveling the world with her family, and hiking and climbing with her friends, all while undergoing chemotherapy treatment in Boulder.
She considered herself lucky to be able to do so much despite her cancer, and she was determined to make the most of her time left.
A month after her terminal diagnosis, Dara started Climb Avy Aware, a Colorado nonprofit corporation, dedicated to increasing Colorado ice climbers' awareness of avalanches and avalanche terrain.
In 2019, she had been with a women's ice climbing clinic in Canada when the group was hit by a large avalanche. Dara was uninjured, but one of her climbing partners was buried and killed.
That inspired Dara to bring home to Colorado some of the lessons learned in Canada.
Climb Avy Aware is now Dara's legacy.
As a freelance investigative journalist, she worked at the New York Times for two years investigating the use of drugs in horseracing, earning a front-page byline--"Mangled Horses, Mamed Jockies."
Outside of her life's work, Dara gave back to her community, including acting as a court appointed advocate for abused children in the Harris County, Texas, foster care system, volunteering for several organizations wherever she lived, and serving as a board member for Boulder Climbing Community and Greenwood Wildlife Rescue.
Dara was born August 30, 1955, in Leavenworth, Kansas, to Lola Ann (Gillespie) Trum and Matthew J. Trum, III. She graduated from Leavenworth High School and began study at the University of Kansas in 1973. Having neither the money nor the self-discipline for college, Dara worked a variety of jobs in Lawrence and Topeka, and surprised herself when, with no experience, she landed a job at a Topeka country radio station.
She soon moved on to a DJ position at another radio station, then switched to television, anchoring a 5-minute "newsbreak" during a daytime talk show on the local CBS affiliate, WIBW. Dara went on to hold the weekend news anchor slot, and, finally, became a weekday "beat" reporter.
During her time at WIBW, Dara went back to school at Washburn University and graduated in December 1983 with a BA in communications and political science with honors.
Dara went on to law school at the University of Kansas, where she met many life-long friends and her husband-to-be.
Robin and Dara married after her graduation in 1987 and moved to Houston to practice law in separate firms, Robin at Bracewell & Patterson and Dara at Baker & Botts. She was a litigation associate there until after the birth of their only child, Miles, in 1993.Dara eventually phased out of full-time law practice and turned her attention to her family, volunteering, and endurance sports. By the time she "retired" from endurance races in 2009, Dara had run more than 20 marathons, four 50k trail races and four Ironman Triathlon races-slowly. She always said she was "built for endurance, not speed."
Robin's career led the family to New York City in 2005, where he helped open Bracewell's New York office and build its energy finance practice. Dara volunteered with the Museum of Natural History and the ASPCA and started climbing frozen water falls in upstate New York and New Hampshire. She also went back to school again, getting her MS in 2010 from the Columbia University School of Journalism.
As Robin neared retirement age, they bought a home in Boulder where Robin had attended undergraduate school and worked before law school and which they had visited often since their marriage. For several years, Dara split her time between New York and Boulder, but found it hard to be a volunteer for only half a year in either place, and even harder to keep driving their giant dog, a Great Pyrenees mix, back and forth across the 1,800 miles. Dara relocated to Boulder permanently in 2015, and Robin settled into his role as a United frequent flyer. Once COVID hit, Robin worked remotely from Boulder and the couple settled into a new life together in the foothills of the Rockies.
Dara is survived by her husband of 37 years, Robin Joseph Miles, and their child, Miles; two sisters, Judy Arnold (Joe) and Margaret Seifert (Norm Bowers); and dozens of cousins, nieces, nephews and grand-nieces and -nephews. She also leaves behind dear friends from Kansas City, Houston, New York, and Colorado who shared in her many adventures.
Dara and her family thank Dr. Leslie T. Busby and Laurie Shumaker, MSN, FNP-C, of the Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers' Boulder office, for being partners with them in her care and the caregivers at Trailwinds Integrated Hospice and Palliative Care, especially Victoria and Gina, for their selfless caring.
A memorial service will be held at a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers or food, memorial contributions can be made to Climb Avy Aware, 2950 Island Drive, Boulder, CO, 80301, or at www.climbavyaware.org.