Daniel Smith

Daniel Eugene “Danny” Smith, 74, died peacefully in his sleep May 19 in Fort Mill, S.C. after a fierce battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

He was born Aug. 8,1946, and grew up in Charlotte’s Wilmore neighborhood with two brothers, two sisters and parents Robert T. Smith and Faye Ritchie Smith.

From day one Danny was fearless and sometimes accident-prone. At age 3 he flung open the back door of the family car while his dad was slowing for a stoplight. A woman in a car behind him honked her horn several times and shouted, “Your little boy is rolling down the street!” His dad scooped him up quickly and sped to the hospital with Danny bawling loudly. Diagnosis: fractured skull, doctor said keep him inactive in bed for a month.

By the time he was 10 years old he was embracing danger as a guard with the Wilmore Redskins Pop Warner football team. Danny loved tackling the largest players on the opposing team although he weighed less than 100 pounds and stood barely 5 feet tall. His coach sometimes held him out of a game fearing he would hurt himself.

At Harding High School in 1964, he faced another kind of danger. His low English grade made graduation iffy, and his Grandmother Lillie Ritchie, who had attended all her  grandchildren’s graduation ceremonies warned him not to disappoint her. He didn’t know he would pass English and graduate until he walked onto the stage and received his diploma.

Danny joined the U.S. Air Force after high school, and at his mother’s urging chose to train for an apparent low-risk job as a clerk-typist.

Once again, he ended up in danger when the Air Force sent him to Vietnam. Upon his arrival at Cam Ranh Bay air base, his colonel advised him that he needed security personnel more than clerk-typists. Off went

Danny into the jungle with a rifle to seek out enemy infiltrators. He never told his mother he was not a clerk-typist.

After his discharge 3 ½ years later, he enrolled at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and graduated with honors after earning a bachelor’s degree in political science.

Next: more danger. He joined the Charlotte Police Department as a rookie patrolman. His coworkers nicknamed him “Crash Smith” after he was involved in two wrecks (not his fault) in 20 days. Danny was not injured.

He achieved the rank of sergeant before retiring from the police department after 20 years and moving to Garden City, S.C. with his wife Gloria.  He worked for few years after that in private security. He enjoyed beach life in retirement with Gloria until his breathing and mobility were compromised by his ruthless lung disease.

Family members already miss Danny tremendously and are still in a state of shock over his passing. He and his wife Gloria were together for 42 years. In addition he  is survived by daughters Gloria Stapleton, Angela McCarty, Michelle MacGeorge and grandchildren Ace Reynolds-Stapleton

Marissa Reynolds-Stapleton, grandchildren Sky Rodda, Aubree’ Tillman, Great Grandchildren Seth Tyson, Landen Blackmon and Aurora Reynolds-Stapleton plus two pets: a dog ,Chewy and a cat Lucy. From the Smith family he is survived by brother Doug Smith (Linda), sister Donna Mauney (Paul), sister Darlene Whitaker (David) and many Smith nieces and nephews. Gloria remembers Danny as “A loving and wonderful husband who loved to spoil his wife, who was a wonderful provider and who was always cutting up with everyone.”

There will be a Graveside Service on Saturday June 5 at 11:00am in the Forest Lawn East Cemetery.  Location of the cemetery is 3709 Forest Lawn Drive, Matthews, NC  28105.  Mr. Smith will receive military honors.