Dogan Comez

November 21, 1955 – June 7, 2025

With broken hearts and deepest sorrow, we announce the passing of Dr. Dogan Comez. Dogan was born November 21st, 1955, in the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey to a family of humble means and hardworking values. He worked many jobs, including in a local cinema, making and selling sleds to help his family while he was going to school.
Dogan’s mental and physical excellence then propelled him to the Air Force Academy from ages of 14 to 21. He proudly served in the Turkish Air Force flying NATO missions as a F-5 fighter pilot, an endeavor he was very proud of and talked about frequently to close friends and family. Dogan also participated in skydiving while in the Turkish Air Force, an experience he really enjoyed.
His dedication to serve opened up a world of opportunity with the Air Force Academy as he advanced to finishing an accelerated Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in mathematics at Middle East Technical University (METU). While at university, Dogan was running track competitively, skiing, mountain climbing and he was involved in many cultural activities.
After graduating with his master’s degree, he obtained a full scholarship to the University of Toronto, Canada where he pursued his dreams and passion for mathematics, subsequently earning his Ph.D. in 1983. While at UFT, he was very active in cultural activities including Turkish folk dancing; he continued to enjoy running and cross-country skiing. While in school, Dogan met many lifelong friends, including his best friend and the love of his life, Dana Gulej.
A dear friend of his suggested he consider an assistant professor position at North Dakota State University. This led him and Dana to move to Fargo, North Dakota, which would become their home for nearly 40 years. They had their first son Deniz in 1991, and then shortly after returned back to Turkey for a sabbatical. Upon returning to the United States, Dogan and Dana bought their home in North Fargo and had their second son Alexander in 1997. Dogan raised his sons with values of hard work, integrity, thrift, citizenship and so much more. He was also a dedicated soccer coach as well as a family man, friend and grandfather.
Dogan won many awards for his excellence in teaching and research, including the prestigious Robert Odney award in 2007 and the Distinguished Educator Award by the Blue Key Honor Society in 2016. Additionally, he founded GraSUS and also organized Sonya Kovaelvski Mathematics Day. He was a fine mentor for his multiple Ph.D students, chair of the department of mathematics twice, president of the NDSU senate (2008-09), referee for the National Science Foundation and published many research papers. Dogan also taught courses at the Governor’s school for advanced high school math students. He served on many committees at NDSU and was heavily involved in the governance and wellbeing of the university.
Dogan was a true Renaissance man whose intellect was boundless, not only in mathematics and science, but chess, geology, astronomy, history, geography, political science, music, poetry and literature. Dogan had also had a deep love of wine and sharing a drink with good company, often using his famous ironic toast: “May this be the worst day of our lives!”. He and Dana met even more friends at this point in life, many of whom he was very close with. Dogan loved to travel with his friends and family, making several trips to Turkey, the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Holland, France, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Israel, Cyprus, Mexico, Chile, Vietnam, Thailand and all over the United States. Dogan deeply enjoyed spending time in nature, and loved to hike, camp and do rock climbing with his sons and friends. He was a humanitarian by heart, who had profound empathy for poor and marginalized communities.
Dogan will be remembered as a dedicated and exemplary husband, father, grandfather, colleague, educator and citizen. Dogan is survived by his wife Dana, older son Deniz, daughter-in-law Jaime, younger son Alexander, and his grandchildren Ari and Luna. His dedication and love for his grandchildren was immense; he spent lots of quality time with them. He had a reputation for having a tireless work ethic, strong sense of right and wrong, and so many other solid traits of a leader with deep integrity and honor. He motivated many and cherished his time as a mentor. As a family, we are so very proud of his life and legacy. While heart issues might have ended his life abruptly, his actions, values and vigor inspires us, and we know it is our duty to live according to his values and do what would make Dogan proud. There are no words we can say to describe our grief, there are no words to say how many lives he touched and how proud we are of his honorable life. At this time, we are tentatively planning a memorial service in late September 2025, our family very much appreciates your thoughts and goodwill.