Daniel Neff Obituary

Daniel Neff SUMMERVILLE - Daniel Arthur Neff, affectionately known as "Dan," "Mort," "Dan the Mailman," "Dan the Man," "Dan the Handyman," and "Danny A," passed away peacefully at the age of 65 on September 28, 2024 in Summerville, SC ,surrounded by his loving wife, Kelley, daughter, Ciara and cherished friends. Born on August 23, 1959 to William "Bill" and Mabel "Kay" (Loper) Neff, Dan grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he graduated from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School in 1977. After dedicating 40 years of service to the United States Postal Service as a rural route carrier, Dan embraced his next chapter by proudly founding D & K Contractors, L.L.C. in 2022. His customers loved him and were so grateful for the excellent, loyal service that he provided to them. Dan and Kelley were married in Suttons Bay, Michigan at the Vineyard Inn, April 20, 2012, on a beautiful spring day with the cherry blossoms in full bloom. He loved spending time with her traveling to places that included the mountains and the ocean, exploring the areas where they lived, working on projects in their home, celebrating anniversaries, month-a-versaries and simply being together. He loved visiting his grandchildren, especially swimming, chasing them around the playground, and reading to them. Dan cherished family time, special events, and birthday festivities with his cousins, Gary and Kathy; Victoria (Charles), Jaxson and Owen; Chris (Perri), Emersyn and Harper; Jonathan (Ava) and favorite moments with Lindsea and Tyler. Dan loved life and was a man of many passions. He was deeply involved in the Ann Arbor fast-pitch men's softball community, which started when his dad Bill organized the junior league, 18 and under Fast Pitch team in 1976, while his dad coached his team and Dan played until the league ended. He continued to play, traveling and pitching in many National tournaments and recently got back into the sport, playing and pitching at two tournaments in Michigan and Illinois. Another passion was bowling on teams in Ann Arbor and bowled in over twenty national and regional tournaments nationwide. He thoroughly enjoyed the friends and camaraderie that came with all his years of playing softball and bowling. When he wasn't playing sports, he enjoyed watching his favorite teams play: the Detroit Tigers and the Red Wings. Dan loved to read books and was an avid reader. He enjoyed gardening, fishing, cooking, eating his favorite foods; especially bacon, pecan pie and chocolate milkshakes, watching the birds, hummingbirds and listening to the owls in their backyard, helping his customers, neighbors, and many friends with numerous projects, and relished spending time with them as well. When Dan wanted to enjoy a good meal, you could always catch him at Eggs up Grill, Charleston Deli and Magnolias. He also loved to volunteer with Katie's Krops, working side by side with his business partner, Jermaine and son, Sloan, sharing many wonderful stories (especially on Facebook), of his and his dad's softball days, memories of family moments with his mom, dad and brothers, time spent at his grandparents' Neff Bait house with his brothers and cousins, bowling and postal stories. Dan had lots of special memories of his longtime childhood friends, Mark, Rich, and his friend, Russ remembers playing Blooper ball in Neff's backyard called "Candlestick Park", cub scout and boys scout days, working at A&W and several high school antics, some involved his black Chevy Impala and old grey Barracuda, bowling with dear friends, Bub's and Uncle "D". Dan would fondly recall family gatherings at his parents' house on Blind Lake, taking Amy and Patty to tournaments, on vacations and many other special moments that he shared with all of his children. Those who knew and loved Dan would say that he was a friend to all, always uplifting, jovial, supportive, patient, hardworking, kind, a loving husband, father, grandpa, son, brother, cousin, great co-worker, remarkable softball player, and bowler, "honest man with a heart of gold and a great sense of humor", he had a contagious smile that would light up a room, a laugh that warmed any heart of those who met him, "always goofy, positive and outwardly happy" and loved to make people laugh with his many jokes. Dan is survived by his wife, Kelley; children, Sloan, Amy (Eric), Jordan, Patricia "Patty" (Micky), Lindsea (Tyler), and Ciara (Diana); grandchildren, Avira, Isaac, Luke, Benji, and Lana; brothers, Ted (Nancy) and Tim (Mary); Aunts Margaret "Maggie", Roberta "Bobbie" and Carole; nephews, Josh (Catherine), Trevor (Lail), Matt (Allie) Alec (Alex) and Averil (Alexa); nieces, Andrea, Heather (Jake) and Kasey (Jamie); cousins, Bill and Krista, Gary (Kathy), TJ, Dan "Danny D" (Jennie), Mike (Ann), Darren (Kathy), Shannon (Justin), Kevin, Patrick (Sarah), Kathy S. and all of their children; great-nephew, Liam and great-niece, Piper; sister-in-law, Kristen; mother-in-law Caryl (Ed) and brother-in-law Larry; significant dear "family" friends, Bert and Tita, Donald "Tiny" "Bubs", Mark "7" (Becky), Jermaine, Russ F., Rich K, Tom and Greg, Kathy and Rick, Bryan, Jason and Annie, Frank W., Randy and Sue, Christine and Chris and many other wonderful neighbors and friends. He is preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Kay, grandparents, Edward and Louise (Stauch) Neff, uncles, Tom and Jim Neff, great-uncle, Lewis "Babe" Stauch, and Uncle "D" Durwin Passow (Jean). A celebration of his beautiful life will be held in South Carolina and Michigan at a later date. Please feel free to contact Kelley and Tim if you would like to be notified. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of his favorite charities, Katie's Krops of Summerville, SC. Finally, if you see someone who could use a good laugh, tell them a joke or a funny story or ask if they would just like a hug. Dan would be happy and pleased! He will live in our hearts forever and will be greatly missed by those who loved him! Arrangements by PARKS FUNERAL HOME, 130 W. 1st North Street, Summerville, SC 29483. www.parksfuneralhome.com