Danny was, in addition, a resourceful and considerate travelling companion; a lover of laughter and pub culture, of busking and public transit, of sleeping on friends’ couches and playing with their kids and dogs; a wise and soulful listener to your troubles, ready to share a cup and a personal anecdote, to let it be known that none of us is really very different from any other; a true believer that a patient God exists, that there’s goodness in people, and that the best is yet to come.
He persisted in his optimism despite the evidence in the headlines and his own personal misfortunes. Accumulated injuries from the playing field and construction site left him disabled and in chronic pain, and the ruinous social policies of Ronald Reagan cut his benefits in half. Danny played free gigs for every charitable cause that asked, but never asked for himself. Steadily lowering his expenses, he was able to survive on his music, first by moving out of his home town of Asbury Park to Ireland, from Ireland to Texas, and finally to Colorado. And possibly he was too careful with a coin: at the end, in an irony he himself would have howled at, he had just enough in the bank to disqualify him from receiving county funeral assistance--poor Danny died with too much money!
He was predeceased by his parents, Edward B. and Helen (nee Shropshire) Gallagher; a brother Michael; and a nephew Pip. He is survived by a son Edward, his wife Beth and their children Jaime, Destiny and Madison; a daughter Kim, her husband James Brennan and their children Robert and Alison; a daughter Amanda, her husband George Palacios and their children Ryan, Marci, Tony and Dakoda; and a son Finn. Also survivng are a brother Patrick, his wife Patricia and their children Jesse, Nicky and Lacey; a sister Anne D’Ambrosio, her husband Joe and their children Michelle, Michael and Christina; his late brother Michael’s children Mike Jr., Scott and Rod; an uncle William Shropshire; and friends, fans and acquaintances beyond number.
Local arrangements are by the Crist Mortuary of Boulder CO. His cremated remains will be interred beside his mother, above his brother’s vault, at Monmouth Memorial Park, Tinton Falls NJ, at the convenience of the family.
-Robert Lee Hefter & Barbara L. Hoelle
