Welcome to the memorial page for
Daniel Michael Roycroft
November 11, 1961 ~ July 7, 2017 (age 55) 55 Years Old Light a Candle
Leave a Condolence
A candle was lit by Heather
on July 29, 2017 3:38 PM
Message from Heather
July 29, 2017 3:37 PM
It is with profound sadness that my siblings and I inform every one of the passing of our beloved brother Danny on July 7, 2017 due to cardiac arrest. Daniel Michael Roycroft was born in Prince George BC on November 11, 1961. He was a kind and thoughtful boy, a cheeky and devilish teenager, and a complicated and unfortunately could be a self-destructive man. He was also a cherished son, adored brother, loving but absent father, uncle to numerous nieces and nephews and a loyal friend.
You could be as angry with Danny as you have ever been angry with someone in your life, and all he would have to do is give you that cheeky grin and say “come on you know you love me, don’t be mad”, and that would be the end of it, usually afterwards you would be telling him he was a shithead and don’t do it again. He would always say “okay- you know I love you”!
Our brother could try the patience of a saint sometimes. Besides having a deep love for our mother, Danny adored his daughter Ashley’s other grandmother Ruby. How Ruby didn’t throttle Danny daily for his shenanigan’s is beyond me. Kimberley reminded me about the time when Danny “borrowed” Ruby’s van so he and Kim could hang out for a while. Ruby had a couple of flats of grapes in the back of the van, Danny was driving too fast going around the corner and flipped the van over onto the roof and scattering grapes everywhere. All Danny could say was “hurry up and help me flip the van back over before the cops come.” They got the van flipped back and raced it back to Ruby’s place before she knew it was gone.
Danny was the young boy who won a toy ring at the fair, and then brought it home and gave it to mum saying he would marry her when he was big. He was also the little brother who idolized his big brother Rob, and was devastated when Rob died. He was sassy to his big sister Janice, always testing her authority when mum left her in charge. As much as he would test Jan’s patience, he was also extremely proud of her accomplishments and respected her more than anyone else he knew. Danny was an older brother to Greg, but was also his first best friend. Those two could get into fist fights where you thought they were literally trying to kill each other, and there is no way they will ever speak to each other again. Mum would send them to separate areas of the house each battered and bloodied, but, by the next day they would be the best of friends once again. Mum’s solution for these fights was to buy the boys a set of Socker Boppers for them to hit each other with. I once asked my mum why she would give them something to hit each other with, and she said that they were doing it anyway and that at least this would be a softer blow to take. For us younger sisters, Maureen, Kimberley, and Heather, Danny was a big brother who liked to have fun, and who would let us hang out with him on occasion and who, when we were sick, would stay behind and play games with us for a while so we wouldn’t be too bored.
We all had chores to do on the weekends and because Danny was an early riser, he was always able to get the easiest chore done and then would be off to play. He would occasionally wake me up, tell me there are only a few dishes to do and then you can go out and play. I would get up quickly, get them done and then would be gone. Quite often poor Greg would be stuck mowing the lawn with the push mower because Danny got up and out of the house leaving the tougher chores behind.
When we were kids and had to stay in the house to play due to bad weather, Dan would get us playing pirates in the living room. The idea was that the floor was water surrounded by crocodiles or sharks and that you had to jump from island to island to stay safe. Many times I found myself standing on a pillow on the floor with Danny’s arms wrapped around me to keep us from falling off into the “water”, while Greg, Maureen and Kim, were close behind us chasing us as the pirates. Dan would then take a long step to reach the couch, and then say “come on Heads I will pull you to safety.”
Our brother loved baseball, history, anything about the world wars, and could tell you pretty much the capitol of any random country in the world. He was a very smart man who unfortunately was not able to reach his potential.
Danny loved his daughter fiercely, but, due to his disease was not capable of being the father he wanted to be. This reality caused him a lot of guilt and shame because there was so much he wanted to be and do for her. He was also a man who loved greatly the women he was fortunate to have loved. Unfortunately again, his disease was stronger than the love he had for them. To steal part of an old saying, “when he was good he was very good, when he was bad he was horrid!” This was very true of our brother.
Danny also always spoke fondly of his childhood friends. He would laugh and reminisce about times he had with each of them. He may not have always been able to be the friend he wanted to be, but he always remembered fondly those he had called friend, often defending some that may have been less than kind by always being able to see the good in them and tell me “he’s a good guy, give him a chance.”
This week I have been fortunate to speak with the people who have been trying to assist Dan with his sobriety. These include the Penticton Outreach Program, and hospital social workers. Many times over the past few days I have had the social workers tell me how numerous colleagues have come by to tell them how devastated they are to hear of Danny's passing.
Over this past year Danny was able to achieve nine and half months of sobriety. One of his social workers told me that you could see his struggle, but he was determined to try. Through everything, even these strangers commented on how they could see his kindness.
To all of you who knew and loved our brother, thank you, we know it was not always easy.
Lastly, I want to leave you with this image of Danny. He always knew where there was a mirror where he would then flick his hair about to make sure he looked good, and then he would turn his butt to you and say, “What do you think, I’m still cute aren’t I, and I still have a cute butt!” He would then give you one of those cheeky grins that you couldn’t help but smile at.
We love you and miss you already booney boy!
You could be as angry with Danny as you have ever been angry with someone in your life, and all he would have to do is give you that cheeky grin and say “come on you know you love me, don’t be mad”, and that would be the end of it, usually afterwards you would be telling him he was a shithead and don’t do it again. He would always say “okay- you know I love you”!
Our brother could try the patience of a saint sometimes. Besides having a deep love for our mother, Danny adored his daughter Ashley’s other grandmother Ruby. How Ruby didn’t throttle Danny daily for his shenanigan’s is beyond me. Kimberley reminded me about the time when Danny “borrowed” Ruby’s van so he and Kim could hang out for a while. Ruby had a couple of flats of grapes in the back of the van, Danny was driving too fast going around the corner and flipped the van over onto the roof and scattering grapes everywhere. All Danny could say was “hurry up and help me flip the van back over before the cops come.” They got the van flipped back and raced it back to Ruby’s place before she knew it was gone.
Danny was the young boy who won a toy ring at the fair, and then brought it home and gave it to mum saying he would marry her when he was big. He was also the little brother who idolized his big brother Rob, and was devastated when Rob died. He was sassy to his big sister Janice, always testing her authority when mum left her in charge. As much as he would test Jan’s patience, he was also extremely proud of her accomplishments and respected her more than anyone else he knew. Danny was an older brother to Greg, but was also his first best friend. Those two could get into fist fights where you thought they were literally trying to kill each other, and there is no way they will ever speak to each other again. Mum would send them to separate areas of the house each battered and bloodied, but, by the next day they would be the best of friends once again. Mum’s solution for these fights was to buy the boys a set of Socker Boppers for them to hit each other with. I once asked my mum why she would give them something to hit each other with, and she said that they were doing it anyway and that at least this would be a softer blow to take. For us younger sisters, Maureen, Kimberley, and Heather, Danny was a big brother who liked to have fun, and who would let us hang out with him on occasion and who, when we were sick, would stay behind and play games with us for a while so we wouldn’t be too bored.
We all had chores to do on the weekends and because Danny was an early riser, he was always able to get the easiest chore done and then would be off to play. He would occasionally wake me up, tell me there are only a few dishes to do and then you can go out and play. I would get up quickly, get them done and then would be gone. Quite often poor Greg would be stuck mowing the lawn with the push mower because Danny got up and out of the house leaving the tougher chores behind.
When we were kids and had to stay in the house to play due to bad weather, Dan would get us playing pirates in the living room. The idea was that the floor was water surrounded by crocodiles or sharks and that you had to jump from island to island to stay safe. Many times I found myself standing on a pillow on the floor with Danny’s arms wrapped around me to keep us from falling off into the “water”, while Greg, Maureen and Kim, were close behind us chasing us as the pirates. Dan would then take a long step to reach the couch, and then say “come on Heads I will pull you to safety.”
Our brother loved baseball, history, anything about the world wars, and could tell you pretty much the capitol of any random country in the world. He was a very smart man who unfortunately was not able to reach his potential.
Danny loved his daughter fiercely, but, due to his disease was not capable of being the father he wanted to be. This reality caused him a lot of guilt and shame because there was so much he wanted to be and do for her. He was also a man who loved greatly the women he was fortunate to have loved. Unfortunately again, his disease was stronger than the love he had for them. To steal part of an old saying, “when he was good he was very good, when he was bad he was horrid!” This was very true of our brother.
Danny also always spoke fondly of his childhood friends. He would laugh and reminisce about times he had with each of them. He may not have always been able to be the friend he wanted to be, but he always remembered fondly those he had called friend, often defending some that may have been less than kind by always being able to see the good in them and tell me “he’s a good guy, give him a chance.”
This week I have been fortunate to speak with the people who have been trying to assist Dan with his sobriety. These include the Penticton Outreach Program, and hospital social workers. Many times over the past few days I have had the social workers tell me how numerous colleagues have come by to tell them how devastated they are to hear of Danny's passing.
Over this past year Danny was able to achieve nine and half months of sobriety. One of his social workers told me that you could see his struggle, but he was determined to try. Through everything, even these strangers commented on how they could see his kindness.
To all of you who knew and loved our brother, thank you, we know it was not always easy.
Lastly, I want to leave you with this image of Danny. He always knew where there was a mirror where he would then flick his hair about to make sure he looked good, and then he would turn his butt to you and say, “What do you think, I’m still cute aren’t I, and I still have a cute butt!” He would then give you one of those cheeky grins that you couldn’t help but smile at.
We love you and miss you already booney boy!
© 2024 Providence Funeral Homes & Crematorium. All Rights Reserved. Funeral Home website by CFS & TA | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Accessibility