Farewell to Danny......



Getting back into the swing of things is alot harder when you hit a brick wall. The Saturday we were packing the house in NC I received a phone call from my dad, wanting to know if I was SITTING down? No are you kidding I am in the middle of packing a moving truck....doesn't require alot of sitting down! His bad news trailed with Danny a life long friend of the family at least my life long........Danny was found unconscious and was in a coma and they didn't know what happened or why. Over the past 2 weeks I followed up with phone calls to the family, to check on Danny and was very excited when he finally woke up about a week later. Although he thought it was 1974 there was hope! Getting settled in the house seems better, Danny was awake and Prince Charming and I picked out cat cards, with singing and funny messages along with pictures to make sure he remembers us .....he had 16 cats at one time.....but is down to 10! And I thought 2 were bad!


Then the dreaded phone call came that Danny had passed away. Just like that, first he wakes up and now he's not. They still don't know what happened, or why.......My heart sank when I realized there would be no more "Hey Little Pep" phone calls to see what's up, to check on me the family and my dad! No more Uncle Danny coming to visit in his FAB-U-LOUS convertible Thunderbird, being oh so sporty while being the world's worse dresser all in one! Love Danny dearly but he has never been a slave to fashion! But that never stopped him! Always a smile on that mans face, I honestly can not remember EVER seeing a frown on his face!


My dad and I flew to Chicago for the viewing and funeral. Danny was a man with not only many cats....did I mention 10! He also had a lotta cars ....Thunderbird, Harley, Volkswagen Bug, Monte Carlo and a BRAND NEW 3 WEEK OLD TRUCK. Yes needless to say Danny wasn't married ....cause you know a wife would SO NOT allow all those TOYS and CATS! He belonged to "The Wild Hogs" chapter ( and I thought it was just a movie) so they actually had his Harley and leather jacket and Hat in the funeral home! It seem to be the perfect fit, to show who Danny was! Next to the Harley was the many metals he earned being in the Army, articles about him through out the years, the man was nothen but heart! And the stories people told really confirm what dad and I knew......there wasn't a person out there that didn't love Danny and love that smile he always wore! A military farewell with a 21 gun salute ended the day and Danny was laid to rest in a national military cemetery....just where he should be.


The funny thing was when I introduced myself "Hi I''m Pepper and this is my dad Howard." the reaction was always the same...large wide eyes and they would say "Your Little Pep?" While I may not be that little anymore, Danny musta filled them with many many stories of "Little Pep" that they were surprised to see MOI! A grown woman......but to my Danny I will always and forever be "Little Pep"!

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