Danny Franklin Born August 10, 1946 Died December 27,2020 

A few remembrances: 

Danny was a fabulous baseball player in school. The whole family used to go watch his games at Tamblyn field. He won a trophy for his .576 batting average. I remember a family outing to Yankee Stadium in the ’50’s, where we rooted for Micky Mantle and Roger Maris. Mom remained a lifelong Yankees fan but after they moved south, Dan and Angie switched allegiance to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. For his sake, I’m glad the Rays won two American League pennants, including one this year. 

He loved cars. He taught himself to drive in Mom’s ’49 Chevy, in the driveway at 52 Donaldson Avenue. After he got his license, he bought a ’55 Chevy convertible and got a job at Shop-Rite, where he met Angie. During those last years at home, he also loved driving his Triumph TR-4, and '57 Caddy convertible. As far as I know, he never had an accident or even a speeding ticket. 

He loved making music. Many of us are familiar with his piano albums; his last CD, “Strings That Bind’, is my favorite. But his first love was guitar. In high school, he taught himself to play electric guitar up in his rooms at 87 Lincoln. He kept the volume low, but we could still hear the strains of chords as they ran through his head and out his fingers.

He was also a talented artist, writer and gardener. He drew cars beautifully, but never pursued artwork much beyond that. His writing was expressive, fluid and seemingly effortless. In retirement, he loved working in his yard, which he transformed into a paradise of tropical color against lush green backgrounds. 

He made us laugh. I remember one time during a visit to Tampa when we all went out for Chinese food. There was a woman celebrating her birthday at the next table. The staff brought out a birthday cake, gathered round to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and loudly exclaimed ‘Make a wish!’ I looked over to see Danny, hands folded in prayer and eyes cast heavenward, saying, ‘I wish I had a piece of cake, I wish I had a piece of cake…’ 

In loving memory of Danny who was, as he occasionally reminded me, my only brother. Linda Peake