Funny, loving, caring, good-hearted, hard working
Danny was a great, fun-loving guy with a heart of gold. Even as a child, he would stop on his paper route and chat with various people such as a man whose wife was in a nursing home, or the blind man who could use some company. He would tell his parents, “It doesn’t hurt to take time to visit, they have a lot to tell you.” Long after his paper route days were over, he still went back to see them.
Danny graduated from high school and went to technical school to learn HVAC. He had several lucrative jobs with large universities and hospitals where he excelled. He also had a side business called Elmers where he made friends with many of his customers.
The pride and joy of Danny’s life was his daughter, Gracie Marie. She was named Grace for the grace of God and Marie for an elderly neighbor that Danny spent time with. He was very close to his dad and three sisters, but especially to his mom. He would text her pictures of Gracie, send her jokes and songs, and tell her to listen to the lyrics. His parents and sisters are grateful that Gracie’s mother, Kelly, is part of their family and that so many loving people keep her daddy’s memory alive.
Danny was also a trickster, routinely tying a rubber band around the sink sprayer so when his mom turned on the water it would get her. After a few times, his mom caught on and looked for the rubber band. Relieved it wasn’t there; she turned on the water and got sprayed. Danny switched to transparent tape for his prank! His mom said: “He would be around the corner peaking and when it happened, he would laugh and laugh.”
Danny was well loved by his nieces and nephews. When his niece was in the Nutcracker Ballet, he presented her with a nutcracker after her performance and asked for her autograph; it made her night. He saw that his nephew had a lot of energy and encouraged him to take Karate; he misses Uncle Danny at his tournaments. Another nephew graduated last year and after the ceremony revealed that he carried Danny’s prayer card from his memorial service in his graduation cap. He said, “I know Danny would want to be here.”
While taking Gracie to see Santa with his parents, Danny bought a pair of diamond earrings for his daughter. He showed them to his dad and said, “I want Gracie to have something to remember me by.” His dad said, “It was as if he knew drugs were going to take his life.”
Danny touched many people through his thoughtfulness. At Christmas, 2018, he got a huge grave blanket for his grandpop’s grave and said to his dad, “Yo, Dad, Beautiful right?” His dad remarked, “He always said “Yo” and “right,” it was his thing.”
“He was someone you just wanted to be around,” his mom stated. His parents, and loving sisters, Sue, Margie and Linda, have many great family memories with Danny, most of them captured in treasured photographs they are grateful to have. His dad said, “He was never mean, always good-hearted, and we miss him, we always will.”
Danny’s father, Daniel Campbell, and mother, Sue Campbell provided the information for this narrative.
July 10, 1986-May 5, 2019
Age 32-Lived with the disease of addiction 12 years
