Several dozen people turned up on a rainy Sunday evening at Buddy Attick Park to celebrate Danny Abebe and to remember his life. Daniel Negussie Abebe was born in Volgograd, Russia, on March 23, 1990, to a Russian mother, Valentina Belaineh, and an Ethiopian father, Negussie Abebe. Danny came to this country in 1992 with his mother, and the family became naturalized citizens. After attending Duval High School, Danny worked at various retail and service jobs, including the Greenbelt Co-op Supermarket and the New Deal Café.
Danny was exceptionally tall at 6 feet 6 inches. He was a good basketball player. “He had one of the nicest threes – it looked ugly, but it always went in,” his friend Tariq Hanley remembered. Several Greenbelters offered their time and talents to help the community celebrate Danny’s memory. Leonard Wallace placed a notice about Danny’s death on his display at Realty 1. Vijay Parameshwaran made a chalk heart on Roosevelt Center by the Co-op, where people left flowers and candles after Friday’s candlelight vigil. Alicia Deligianis, at the New Deal Café, made a portrait of Danny on a poster listing the times of commemorative events. Aaron Mengel, chef and manager at Generous Joe’s, helped to coordinate a memorial potluck on Sunday evening at Buddy Attick Park, to which many attendees contributed.
Danny was well known around Greenbelt as a cashier at the Coop, and for his signature way of ringing up the groceries with a rapid-fire aim of the handheld scanner. Customers always wanted to be in his line, several people agreed, because of his speed and efficiency. Co-worker Joanne Ward remembered the times that Danny would help with her yard and garden work. “He’d always say, no, don’t pay me. He loved everybody, always smiling. I’d see him giving people $20 if they didn’t have enough to pay for their groceries.”
Dane Callender was a longtime friend of Danny, whom he met in the sixth grade. They enjoyed listening to rock and going to concerts, especially Coheed and Cambria, whom they saw in concert five times. Danny loved reading fantasy novels, including Harry Potter (he was a Slytherin), and he loved dragons and games like Final Fantasy where he enjoyed playing villains to defeat his friends. Danny was admired for his cheerful and hospitable nature. “He would open his doors and give you a blanket and a spot on the couch,” said Callender. “He opened me up to being more social, and he always enjoyed himself. He taught me a lot about interacting and helping people. He would offer to sweep the floors and clean the tables at Joe’s at closing time and not ask for anything in return. I stopped being surprised at some of the things he would offer to do because that was just Danny,” Callender added. Danny is survived by his parents, uncles, cousins and younger brother Alexander Abebe.
Donations to help pay for the funeral costs and headstone may be sent to gofundme.com/donation039sfor-danny039s-funeral. As of Sunday evening, $3,300 had been raised