In those days, Marianna was a thriving community, where many of the young men earned high school diplomas and quickly got jobs at Mine No. 58. All of the men in the Marodi family had worked in the coal mine: their father, grandfathers and uncles. There were a few who moved away to get jobs and Danny decided to follow in their footsteps. So, he studied drafting and sometime in the early 1970s, Charlie and Honey stood in the yard with their other children Vickie, Alex and Timmy and waved goodbye to Danny.
Danny was the cool, older brother with a fashion sense. Honey, who loved to iron and had an appreciation for those who ironed, once bragged that Danny would get up early and press his own clothes before he headed off to classes at Beth-Center High School. This wonderful woman, who claimed to have ironed underwear and handkerchiefs for fun, seemed proud to have passed on the skill.
Her oldest son also had a gift for music and I heard stories of Honey making him take accordion lessons when he was a kid. Eventually, he learned how to play the guitar and formed a band with his friends. Danny, to put it simply, knew how to have fun and he was fun to be around.
Honey and Charlie missed their son, but they probably knew there wasn’t much for him in Marianna. So, they resigned themselves to the fact that this was the way it was going to be. Danny decided to stay in Indiana, but he returned to marry his high school sweetheart Paula. Honey and Charlie waved goodbye again when Danny took his young bride out West.
I met Danny shortly after I started dating Tim in 1988. Paula’s sister was hosting a party to celebrate the baptism of the couple’s newborn daughter Danielle. They came home a year and a half later when Tim and I got married. The young family, which grew to include their son Aaron, returned to Pennsylvania when their jobs and busy schedules permitted.
A distance of nearly 500 miles can make it difficult to stay close to family members, but we would see Danny’s family at Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, weddings or funerals. We didn’t get to spend much time with them, but when Danny came home it was always a special time filled with fun and plenty of love.
Over the years, Danny learned to cook and he took that skill to a level that even a seasoned cook like Honey could appreciate. He was so dedicated to cooking that he would bring his own pots and pans, knives, utensils and spices to Pennsylvania. Soon, the Marodi house in Marianna would be filled with the aromas of wonderful soups simmering on the stove and casseroles baking in the oven. Once dinner was served, Danny would sit at the end of the table telling stories and smoking cigarettes. During his last visit in July, he proudly showed us pictures of his latest passion – his lush and beautiful vegetable garden. You could tell he loved his family and he wished he could come home more often. When he hugged you goodbye you knew he meant it.
On Sunday, we got a phone call from Vickie who told us that Danny’s health was failing fast in an Indiana hospital. A few hours later we learned that he had died. Even though we knew he had health issues, his death was sudden and the news was shocking.
So, at about midnight on Monday, Tim and Alex left Pennsylvania to make the long journey to Indiana. This time the little brothers were called upon to be strong and brave – to be the ones who would bring their big brother home.
Click here to read Danny's obituary.
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