Dan Powell, an air quality advocate and city planner who helped the city of Fountain Inn secure much of the funding for many of its city projects, died Sunday afternoon after a nearly two-year battle with cancer.

Powell, 37, was Greenville County’s "Spare the Air" air quality co-director who helped develop many of the county’s air quality programs. He was health-conscious, fit, a non-smoker. But he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in January 2014 and his advocacy efforts turned from air quality to lung cancer.

Powell fought hard, used his grant-writing skills to secure funding for his medications and began to connect with lung cancer patients and support groups across the country.

He founded a lung cancer support group at Bon Secour St. Francis Health System. He traveled across the country to speak with leading lung cancer doctors, attend lung cancer conferences and to test new medications and procedures.

Cancer receded for a time, but came back stronger and spread to his brain.

Powell had traveled to Nashville last week in the midst of Lung Cancer Awareness Month to begin a new clinical trial, one he had discovered while attending the International Lung Cancer Conference in September, his wife, Rebecca said in a post on CaringBridge.org.

“Dan is cancer free,” she wrote. “He woke up in heaven around 12:20 this afternoon.  He was at peace. He fought this battle so hard.”

As the director of Keep Greenville County Beautiful, Powell helped bring the Breathe Better Air at School anti-idling program to Greenville County Schools. He wrote grants to build sidewalks and trails through Safe Routes to School, and another grant to establish the southern tip of the Greenville Health System Swamp Rabbit Trail through Fountain Inn.

As a city planner, he wrote grants that brought in millions in funding to help revitalize Fountain Inn’s parks and downtown.

As an advocate in the battle against lung cancer, Powell served as area leader for LiveLung, a non-profit that focuses on education and survivorship for those in the Upstate affected by lung cancer.

He served on the coordinating council for the South Carolina Cancer Alliance, Bon Secours St. Francis Green Team, and held a position on the American Cancer Society Upstate Leadership Council.

When he was diagnosed with cancer, he immediately went out and bought an electric car. He then helped promote and write grants for electric car charging stations in the Greenville area. He testified in Washington D.C. as a resident and member of Upstate Forever, in favor of the EPA’s new air quality standards.

In February, he was named Upstate Forever’s 2015 Clear Skies Champion in recognition of his air quality efforts.

In Fountain Inn, a sculpture and fountain in a new park along Main Street was dedicated in September as the Dan Powell Rotary Park Fountain.

After all, Powell was the catalyst to build the park.

Powell is survived by his wife, Rebecca, and son, Davis.

credit to     https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2015/11/16/air-quality-advocate-dan-powell-dies/75896060/