My guess is that Danny would not want anyone to boast about him, or share a story, or two, but Danny is too special not to!

Danny was one of the first friends I met at christian Hills in 1977 when I was 12 years old, I think Danny was 15.  He was shy, however, as many of you know, he had his not so shy side.  He enjoyed picking on me and of course I would react; which I am sure egged him on more.  I remember one day a small group of us kids were talking and Danny gave me this look of disgust… when I asked him what was wrong, he responded, “you have a man’s voice”.  I was mortified, to say the least… and responded, “no I do not” and of course Danny insisted that I did!  I am laughing as I type this, because when I reflect back to that moment, it was clearly not true… it was just his way of aggravating and having fun doing it!  And while Danny enjoyed aggravating…  he was a true example of authenticity and honesty... his true character was that of integrity, hence the reason I treasured the relationship with him so much. 

All of us kids had so much fun being together... being in youth group "Bod and Debi were THE BEST"!  Thank you for your hearts!  Dougie too... his heart for the children was astounding!  Well, one Sunday morning, a group of us kids sat in the church balcony, as we often liked to sit in the balcony, mostly so that we could talk and, or pass notes back and forth to each other.  I know, this was very bad; but true.  Anyway, this one particular Sunday, we were talking and passing notes, and if I remember correctly, I think that Danny might have been passing notes for us, because in his defense, he rarely talked or misbehaved in this way.  All of a sudden Pastor Arnes stops the service (mind you, the church was packed) and said, “Danny and Gloria, please come down to the front of the church and sit in the front row, in front of me so you can listen and not talk”.  Our faces turned every shade of red… and I remember walking down the stairs... Mack, who was a church employee custodian and church member said to us, “you kids should not be talking in church”.  The walk up the aisle seemed like miles with all eyes staring, particularly our parents!  Not a good day for us!  LOL!!!  I reminded Danny of this a few years ago… clearly a memory that he was not proud of, but what he did say, is how much he missed Pastor Arnes… and what a man of God he was.

In about 1981, I met a sweet girl who had recently moved to the US from Nicaragua, this girls name is Marta!  I first met Marta at school (Lincoln Way), as her Aunt and Uncle (where she was now living) lived down the street from me.  Marta and I became friends instantly, as her and I had much in common… we could talk forever!  Due to circumstances, I no longer attended Christian Hills, however, Marta’s Aunt and Uncle did, so she would go with them to church… it is there where my two friends met and fell in love!  In June of 1983, Danny and Marta married... I remember the wedding very well… it was wonderful and a memory I hold near to my heart!  Sadly, as time progressed… circumstances, and distance caused us to drift a part. 

It was in 2010 that I received two messages on Facebook… Danny and Marta found me!!! I will never forget the messages that I received from each of them... I was blessed beyond words!  My two special friends are still the same loving and caring people that I remember them being and now they have 3 amazing sons!  An extension of the two of them!  Danny even took the liberty of picking on one of my Facebook photo’s… but this time, he said he was joking and told me how much I mean to him and Marta and how much they both loved me.  It was during this time that I learned of Danny and Marta’s love for animals… a love that I share as well!  I learned of Danny’s passion for politics… but not just passion… as it was far greater than this, he was driven to know and speak the truth according to Gods word.  A True Man of God… a Faithful Servant… a Man that Loved God, his Wife and Son’s Deeply and Faithfully.  

I was and still am so blessed to have had met such an amazing boy, who morphed into a man who gave unconditionally of himself in his job and personal life.  Selfishly, I am so sad that you left this earth Danny, as I looked forward to the day that I could introduce my Danny to you… I am so sad that we could not get together with you when you were in Las Vegas on business a few years ago.  I never, ever thought that you would leave so soon, so abruptly… but God had another plan… and for this reason, I am complete with you leaving… I am still sad,  however, your journey was finished here on earth my friend.

I look forward to the day that we will all be together again, with our Lord... but this time forever, never to part!