John "Danny" Elwyn Danson

John Elwyn “Danny” Danson, age 91, died on Thursday October 25, 2018 in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. He was born in Jacksonville on April 7, 1927 to Harry James Danson, Sr. and Madolyn Merlyn Danson (Barley).

Danny grew up in Jacksonville’s Grand Park area where he attended Jackson High School and excelled in sports including baseball and football. After graduating from High School in 1945, Danny served his country in the U.S. Army where he was stationed in Germany and completed his service in 1947. Danny returned to the states to become a professional baseball player in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. During this time, while playing baseball in Palatka, Florida, Danny met his future wife, Yvonne Elizabeth “Bonnie” Hawkins. Danny and Bonnie were married on August 16, 1949 in Folkston, Georgia. Putting his baseball career on hold, Danny worked briefly for Eastern Airlines at Jacksonville’s Imeson Airport. Soon thereafter, he joined the Duval County Road Patrol and began a law enforcement career that spanned four decades. He distinguished himself during the fifties, sixties and seventies with the Road Patrol and the Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office (JSO) where he moved up the ranks ultimately serving as Deputy Director of Operations. Danny retired from the JSO in 1977 but stayed active in law enforcement as a Senior Manager at Wackenhut Security and Senior Investigator for the Florida Department of Professional Regulation until his retirement in 1992.

A son of a World War I veteran and product of America’s greatest generation, Danny lived an extraordinary life exemplified by his devotion to family, community and country. A tireless worker, he provided for a family of six children by routinely working long hours and multiple shifts throughout his career. As a soldier and law enforcement officer he touched countless lives and is remembered by those who knew him as one of the finest men they ever met. We will miss him always but know that we have been blessed to be part of his world. Danny is survived by his wife of sixty-nine years, Yvonne Elizabeth Danson; his daughter, Sharon Yvonne Henley; and sons Timothy Wesley Danson, John Roger Danson, Scott Brady Danson, Edward Miller Danson, and Stephen Elwyn Danson. Survivors also include nineteen grandchildren and thirty great grandchildren.

The Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, November 2, 2018 in Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home of Mandarin, followed by interment in San Mateo Cemetery, San Mateo, FL 32187