Daniel Vincent Byrd II

January 16, 1990 - February 4, 2017

Daniel Vincent Byrd II, “Danny Boy”, tragically lost his life on February 4th 2017. He leaves behind a wife, mother and father, two sisters, a brother, both maternal and paternal grandparents, as well as countless loving friends and family. Danny had a way to make people laugh like no other. Even as a young child, he had a quick wit and a sarcastic sense of humor that made even the tensest moments laughable to anyone. When he was around 6 years old, he saw a commercial on TV for the new movie, 101 Dalmatians, and ran up to his father saying "Daddy, daddy! I want to go see 100 Dalmatians," Danny Sr. replied "I thought it was 101 Dalmatians, what happened to the other one?" and Danny Jr., without missing a beat, replied with "It’s coming to a theater near you!" On the very first night of their honeymoon in Mexico, Danny and Stephanie went to dinner at a beautiful ocean-side restaurant. As they sat down to enjoy the view, Danny said to the waiter "It’s a beautiful view, isn't it?" The waiter said "Si", and Danny immediately replied, "No, that's the ocean." For the rest of their marriage they would relive that moment with each other, responding “Ocean” when they meant “Yes”. His comebacks were unstoppable and had everyone around him in tears from laughing so hard. Danny was the kind of person who was unstoppable once he put his mind to something. At 2 years old he had a septic infection in his hip that left him hospitalized for weeks and in a body cast for 6 months. The doctors prepared his parents for having to care for a completely immobile, wheelchair-bound child at home while he recovered. The day they came home from the hospital, Danny Sr. and Chrissy were chasing their body-casted child around the house while he army crawled and wrestled on the floor with his brother and sister. He was incredibly in love with and devoted to his wife, Stephanie. His life forever changed for the better the day they met, October 27, 2013. They had a beautiful wedding in September of 2015, yet an unfairly short marriage. They were the true definition of soul mates. They had the exact same sense of humor, love for laughter, tattoos, music, cooking, animals, family and children. He was ecstatic about the idea of one day becoming a father, and was always proud to announce he'd be the stay-at-home Dad when it happened. He and Stephanie were in the process of trying for their first child and had even picked out names before he passed so unexpectedly. He used to grab her hand, rub her wedding band and say "Why did you pick me? I'm so lucky to have you." Loving, giving, kind, selfless, honorable and trustworthy. These are just a few words that describe the Danny Byrd we all knew and loved. There was never a person who asked a favor of him that he said no to. He was a truly sensitive soul that wanted to please everyone - a gentle giant, some called him. Drinking sabotaged all of that and cost him his life. The evening that Danny died, he had a wonderful conversation with his mother, Chrissy. He was explaining how proud he was of himself, of his wife, of their life and the direction it was headed. He was ecstatic about his new job with Stephanie’s father Leo as his office manager and the opportunities being given to him. He said "Just wait mom, we'll be millionaires by 2020". Due to alcohol, while at home on Saturday evening, Danny accidentally took his own life, and died in the arms of his wife. In spite of all of this tragedy, Danny was still able to help others as his wife Stephanie asked to donate all his available organs, and because of this, someone will live on with Danny’s heart, another will be able to see with his eyes, and countless others will benefit from his bones, muscles, veins, and tissues. Whoever winds up with his heart will be the luckiest one of all. Danny was a vocal advocate for organ donation and his wife takes amazing comfort in the knowledge that her husband’s death was not entirely in vain. If you or someone you know struggles with addiction to alcohol or drugs, please seek help. Danny was a vocal advocate for gun safety and even with all the precautions he took and talked about, he still lost his life. Please always practice gun safety, and lock your weapons away when you decide to drink. In lieu of flowers, Stephanie asks that you please make a donation in Danny’s name to LifeShare of the Carolinas, and/or register as an organ donor through your local DMV.