Aren Lee Givens

MERCER ISLAND, Wash. – Aren Lee Givens, 35, decided to pass through death’s doors before dawn on Tuesday on April 21, 2026, entering the waters of Lake Washington on the shores of Mercer Island (not far from his Shorewood Apartment in Washington State). He had been missing for two days when police found his submerged body; no foul play is suspected.

Aren was an only child, born in Skowhegan, on Aug. 15, 1990, to Gale Davison and Stephen Givens.

Aren was an avid reader of science-based biology. He read an adult-level book about ants when he was only 4 years old! He loved stories about dragons and dinosaurs as he became older. He liked video games such as Oblivion and Halo. He was a Pokemon fan. He had a passion for wolves that he pursued by volunteering for the Wolf Haven Sanctuary in Washington State in 2012.

Aren’s years in Washington State were primarily filled with night management positions in at least four different homeless shelters. His last employer was Plymouth House in Seattle.

He aspired to be a fiction writer and was working on a novel about a unique pack of werewolves and had written 200,000 words. He chose Port Gamble in Washington to locate his story; the company town was built in 1863 to mimic New England architecture to help attract experienced lumbermen from Machias, to work there. Last fall he began to explore writing screenplays.

He liked walking at night and walked to work whenever possible. He was not interested in driving a car and never even obtained a driver’s license. He missed chocolate chip whoopee pies. He loved Starbucks lattes and Mountain Dew.

Aren is survived by his mother, Gale Davison and his stepfather Donald Smallidge of Waterville; his aunt, Dale Broszeit in Montana, uncle Todd Davison in Washington; his four cousins and their families, Erica Keller, DVM in Ohio, Ryan Keller in upstate New York, Trevor Keller in Ohio, and Heather Ryvore Smith in Washington; his father’s fiancé Bonnie Averill and her son Jordan Thornhill.

He was predeceased by his maternal grandmother, Blanche Davison; and his father, Stephen Givens.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to

Wolf Haven International

3111 Offut Lake Road SE

Tenino, WA 98589

or Coyote Lives in Maine (Maine coyotes descend from hybridizing with wolves). They can be contacted only through their website: http://coyotelivesinmaine.org.