Danner_Raymond

Raymond Perry Danner

(1916 - 1996)

 
 


Raymond Perry Danner was the last child born to Thomas Wesley and Sarah Alice Danner. When he was born his parents and their children had moved to the coal mining town of Pardee in Wise County, Virginia. His father was 47 and his mother 41 when Raymond was born. His oldest brother John had married just over a week earlier and Raymond said John's wife, Rotha Ward Perry, named him after her brother.

about 1920 

The Danners had lost a daughter, 11 year old Sallie, a year before. She was"accidental[ly] crushed between two mining cars" and they were unable to get her to the doctor before she bled to death. 

Raymond remembered his life as being a happy and carefree. He always had a dog and plenty of friends to play with. He said he was always anxious for his father to come home so they could go see about the garden, or to a stream to fish, or just watch his father around the house. He never knew about being poor because most everyone in the town were in similar circumstances. With older sisters Grace and Effie around and brothers Troy and "Babe" still around the house, Raymond must have been well cared for if not downright spoiled.

His education was in a one room schoolhouse and ended by the eight grade. His teen years were during the Great Depression and although he never wanted for food, clothing, or shelter, he started working at an early age. In his late teens and early 20's he worked at the tipple sorting coal into different grades. A 1936 picture has Raymond in the front and a picture of the 1937 Tipple Crew shows Raymond in the back row, and his future brother-in-law in the front. He also remembered going to Bristol to attend a trade school for a short time.
 
 

with Sydney Snodgrass and friend about 1933

Daddy sang bass, as the saying goes, and he met Lottie Louise Stewart at a gospel singing convention where he was singing in a quartet. They began dating while she was still in high school. Apparently being a son of Tom Danner was enough reference for Charlie Stewart, who knew Tom from the mines, so as to allow his oldest daughter to go out with a boy four years older and already working.

On August 9th,1941 Raymond finished his studies at the trade school in Bristol and took a train immediately for Baltimore. He had to leave so quickly he never even got back to Norton to say goodbye to Lottie. He wrote that "I got here about 8:30 A.M. yesterday morning" where he stayed with his eldest brother John, a laborer for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, who was living in Halethorpe just outside the city limits. Raymond worked at the Key Highway Shipyard where he removed asbestos from steam pipes and valves. He did this for 13 months until he went to work for the B&O Railroad on August 29, 1942.

During 1940 Raymond wrote to Lottie often, saying how much he missed her and loved her. After graduating in June of 1941, Lottie worked in Norton, Virginia at the St. Charles Hotel. In October of 1941, John Danner's second wife, Myrtle drove to Norton to get Lottie and bring her to Baltimore. On the 18th of October Ray and Lottie were married in the home of Reverend Valentine, a young preacher who was starting a new Pentecostal Holiness Church on North Avenue in Baltimore. They found an apartment at 1535 W. Fayette Street where they lived along with Raymond's mother.

Four years later their only child Raymond Perry, Jr. was born.

Raymond continued to work for the B&O and also drove a carpet delivery truck for Montgomery Ward & Co. where Lottie was a sales clerk. They moved from Fafayette Street to Halethorpe and bought a house on March 9th, 1944 for $4200.00, near oldest brother John and his wife Myrtle. Six months after Ray Jr. was born in 1945 they moved to Stoll Street in Brooklyn on the south east side of Baltimore, near the Curtis Bay terminal. On June 23, 1952 Raymond and Lottie moved across the city line into Anne Arundel county and purchased a row house at 4932 Brookwood Road for $8350.00. While living on Brookwood Road, Raymond started his own canvas and awning business. The venture was very successful but between two full-time jobs, Raymond was hardly ever home. During this time "Little" Ray went to the local Brooklyn Park schools where he graduated in 1963. He never road a bus to school, always being within walking distance. Just over a month before Ray's graduation the family moved again to Montgomery Road in Howard County, Maryland.

Ray and Lottie liked living on Montgomery Road. The house only had two bedrooms, but Ray Jr. was gone to college and his own life, and there was enough land to grow vegetables and have a good sized garden.

In 1975 Raymond suffered his first heart-attack while on a train between Washington and Baltimore. He was brought into Camden Yard station and taken to the hospital where he recovered. In 1976 Ray Jr., recently divorced and ready to move on to a high school teaching job, was considering moving to Florida. Ray and Lottie moved to Plant City, Florida, near her older brother and younger sisters. Unfortunately, Ray Jr. got a job teaching at Bowie High school and stayed in Maryland. Mom and Dad Danner returned to Maryland in 1978, this time to 13 acres they had purchased in 1973 on the Eastern Shore near Crisfield. Raymond finally had his retirement dream home. Built to their specifications by a local builder, Mr. Kurtz, the house was simple but sound and built by a craftsman. The contract to build was sealed by a handshake alone.

Raymond was happy. Lottie was a bit far from most everyone, including her only son. However, her only grandson was growing up just 30 minutes north of their house and there were plenty of visits. Ray Jr. and his wife would also came to visit so all was well.

In 1994, Raymond got the urge to move again. This time a little closer to a town and a hospital. He had suffered other small heart-attacks and was well into his 70's. They were looking in nearby Delaware and everything was falling into place for the move.

On Sunday June 12, 1994, Ray and his wife were visiting and had driven with Raymond and Lottie to see a house in Delaware. It was perfect. Raymond was sure it was a place where Lottie could live in safety and comfort after he passed away. Just before midnight that evening, Lottie had a massive stroke. She came out of a coma a week later and began the long road to recovery.

The final move for Raymond and Lottie was to the Annapolis area when Raymond bought a townhouse in Heritage Harbor, an easy 20 minute drive to the nursing home where Lottie stayed. In early March 1996, Raymond came over to check on his son's house, feed the cats, and get some water from the water purifing device he had brought from the Eastern Shore. With his hands and arms full of water containers, he fell down the basement stairs, hitting his head and dying instantly.

Three years later, after an evening visit from Ray and her grandson , Lottie passed away at the nursing home on Thursday, December 23, 1999.

Raymond and Lottie had one child