Jeanne Danko, devout Catholic, volunteer
Jeanne Danko of Ocean View passed away Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, at Cadia Healthcare Renaissance in Millsboro after a long illness with dementia. She was born Dec. 24, 1938, in Carbondale, W.Va., daughter of the late Sam and Mary Jane Lazarus, and sister of the late Antionette Lazarus of Delmar, Md.
Jeanne attended Marshall University and St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Huntington, W.Va. She always wanted to become a nurse. After getting married and having four children, she attended Prince George's Community College to become a licensed practical nurse, and then a registered nurse. Jeanne worked at Prince George’s Community Hospital, Holy Cross Hospital and Anne Arundel Hospital. She also moonlighted as the nurse on emergency medical flights on private aircraft.
Jeanne and Ed met at Huntington Tri-State Airport, where she was the secretary to the airport manager and Ed worked for the Federal Aviation Administration. She and Ed were married at Sacred Heart Church in Huntington, W.Va., in September 1959, and Ed was transferred in December 1959 by the federal government to Newport News, Va. A succession of moves followed which eventually brought them to Bowie, Md., in 1966.
Jeanne was a member of Sacred Heart Church in Bowie. She was a member of the choir, worked in the parish office, was an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist for the homebound and a lector at Mass. She was the prefect of Our Ladies Sodality from 1991-92. In 2000, Jeanne was the lector at the Ordination Mass for the Diaconate Class of her husband at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
Jeanne was an active volunteer with Gabriel Network in Crofton, Md., which assists pregnant women in crisis, helping them through their pregnancy and beyond. She also volunteered with Project Rachel for the Archdiocese of Washington, serving those who were suffering in the aftermath of abortion.
Jeanne and Ed moved to Delaware in 2005 and became members of St. Ann’s Church in Bethany Beach, where her husband is a retired permanent deacon.
She is a Discalced Carmelite (OCDS) and took her final promise May 11, 2013, in the community of Mary, Mother of Life which was later changed to the Community of Mary.
Locally, Jeanne was a lector at Mass and an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist for the homebound, and volunteered in the parish gift shop. Jeanne was a volunteer for Compassionate Care Hospice at Brandywine Senior Living in Fenwick Island, only to become a resident there when she suffered from dementia.
She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Deacon Ed Danko; four children, Diane Blair of Gambrills, Md., Edward Danko Jr. and his wife Laurie of Bowie, Md., Catherine Horn and her husband Dave of Millsboro, and Carol Keane of Jefferson, Md.; and 10 grandchildren, Teresa, Christina, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Marie, Matthew, Michelle, Melissa and Bradley.
A visitation will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 18, at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, 691 Garfield Pkwy., Bethany Beach, followed by a Mass at 11 a.m.
A visitation will also be held at 10 a.m., Friday, Jan. 20, at Sacred Heart Chapel, 16501 Annapolis Road, Bowie, Md., followed by Mass and burial at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made in Jeanne’s name to Gabriel Network, P.O. Box 2116 Bowie, MD 20718, lovegn.org/donate.
Online condolences may be made by visiting melsonfuneralservices.com.
