Obituary for Daniel Patrick Day
Daniel Patrick Day, veteran and retiree from the Department of the Navy, passed early Thursday morning, November 17th from complications of pneumonia.
Dan was born to Martha Elizabeth (Beth) Day and Leroy Francis (Bud) Day on March 12, 1943 while they were living in Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. He was one of five children, their second son, younger brother to Terry and older brother to Jeff, and sisters Molly and Jenny (youngest). He is survived by his two sisters, Molly and Jenny and brother Terry.
His Dad, Bud Day, was an officer in the Foreign Service, branch of the State Department and when he was thirteen the family moved to Bonn, West Germany where his Dad worked in the American Embassy. Dan attended and graduated from the Army High School located in Frankfurt. He travelled with his family when they were transferred to Accra, Ghana in 1961. During their first home leave to the U.S. he signed up with the Air Force. Shortly after his tour ended with the Air Force he got married to Jean Brown in 1972 (no children), then joined the Navy from 1975 to 1980. He was first stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii. While he was in Hawaii, they got divorced. After he left the Navy he went to work for the Dept. of the Navy in Maryland as a statistician, lived in Gaithersburg and never remarried. In 2002 he retired so that he could live with and care for his Dad who had moved from the family homestead in Mt. Airy, Maryland to Sarasota, Florida, where his older brother Terry also lived with his wife Kay. Shortly after his Dad died, he moved to an Independent Living Community, the Horizon Club in Deerfield Beach to be closer to his sisters.
Dan’s passion was music and dancing. He was a devout Catholic and wherever he lived he joined the church choir. He had a deep base voice, played the guitar and loved to sing harmony with all his family. One of his favorite groups was the Kingston Trio. He was pretty good at impersonations - Jonathan Winters, Shelly Berman, Bert Lahr and James Cagney to name a few. His family always thought he would have been great on the radio. Whenever anyone was stumped trying to remember an actor’s name they just had to ask Dan – he would rattle off the name and all their movies. He loved to talk about his time with the Navy when they were caught in storms in the Pacific or climbing the volcanos in Hawaii.
Up to his dying day, his favorite meal was breakfast – bacon and eggs. And unusual for a man, he never missed a birthday or anniversary. Finally, although not a wealthy man, like his Dad, he donated generously to his church and numerous charities.
His family will be taking his ashes to be interned at the cemetery where his Mom and Dad are buried. Services are yet to be scheduled, however, his family believes he would probably appreciate donations to the local hospice VITAS or the Humane Society of Broward County.
His family would like to thank those at Horizon Club that attended so kindly, thoroughly and patiently to his diminishing health and ability to care for himself. We know he did not always make it easy. We are truly grateful for the love that you showed and all that you did and do!
Dan was born to Martha Elizabeth (Beth) Day and Leroy Francis (Bud) Day on March 12, 1943 while they were living in Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. He was one of five children, their second son, younger brother to Terry and older brother to Jeff, and sisters Molly and Jenny (youngest). He is survived by his two sisters, Molly and Jenny and brother Terry.
His Dad, Bud Day, was an officer in the Foreign Service, branch of the State Department and when he was thirteen the family moved to Bonn, West Germany where his Dad worked in the American Embassy. Dan attended and graduated from the Army High School located in Frankfurt. He travelled with his family when they were transferred to Accra, Ghana in 1961. During their first home leave to the U.S. he signed up with the Air Force. Shortly after his tour ended with the Air Force he got married to Jean Brown in 1972 (no children), then joined the Navy from 1975 to 1980. He was first stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii. While he was in Hawaii, they got divorced. After he left the Navy he went to work for the Dept. of the Navy in Maryland as a statistician, lived in Gaithersburg and never remarried. In 2002 he retired so that he could live with and care for his Dad who had moved from the family homestead in Mt. Airy, Maryland to Sarasota, Florida, where his older brother Terry also lived with his wife Kay. Shortly after his Dad died, he moved to an Independent Living Community, the Horizon Club in Deerfield Beach to be closer to his sisters.
Dan’s passion was music and dancing. He was a devout Catholic and wherever he lived he joined the church choir. He had a deep base voice, played the guitar and loved to sing harmony with all his family. One of his favorite groups was the Kingston Trio. He was pretty good at impersonations - Jonathan Winters, Shelly Berman, Bert Lahr and James Cagney to name a few. His family always thought he would have been great on the radio. Whenever anyone was stumped trying to remember an actor’s name they just had to ask Dan – he would rattle off the name and all their movies. He loved to talk about his time with the Navy when they were caught in storms in the Pacific or climbing the volcanos in Hawaii.
Up to his dying day, his favorite meal was breakfast – bacon and eggs. And unusual for a man, he never missed a birthday or anniversary. Finally, although not a wealthy man, like his Dad, he donated generously to his church and numerous charities.
His family will be taking his ashes to be interned at the cemetery where his Mom and Dad are buried. Services are yet to be scheduled, however, his family believes he would probably appreciate donations to the local hospice VITAS or the Humane Society of Broward County.
His family would like to thank those at Horizon Club that attended so kindly, thoroughly and patiently to his diminishing health and ability to care for himself. We know he did not always make it easy. We are truly grateful for the love that you showed and all that you did and do!