Sept. 13, 2004 – Tiny St. Anne's Chapel in Frenchtown overflowed Monday morning with magic – with hundreds of friends, family and people from across the island who came to say farewell to Theodore "Magic" Danet.
Danet died Sept. 7, barely a week ago, and many of those attending the service expressed shock along with sadness at his passing. "It's just so hard to believe, he was so alive," was heard often throughout the crowd.
Danet had affected the lives of many people in the community. He was an avid sportsman, a fisherman, a Rotarian, vice president of the Committee for the Betterment of Carenage, a member of the Knights of Columbus and the American Legion.
But, most of all, he was a husband to Lillian and a father to his son Theodore Danet III, "TP," and daughters Rosemarie Correa and Corinne K. Smith. His son stood proud in the chapel at the close of the service. He thanked everyone for coming to say goodbye. "And drop by and see us when you are in the neighborhood," he said. "Remember, he would have wanted you to."
The roads in Frenchtown will lose a little color without Danet in his familiar red pickup driving down the road with his wife Lillian seated next to him. Or, the two strolling hand in hand around the village, visiting family or neighbors.
Cars were parked in the ballpark parking lot and in the Joseph Aubain ballpark itself, where Danet reigned last year as Father of the Year, when the ballpark was named "Magicsville."
His fellow Rotarians were out at 6 a.m. Monday arranging parking. At the chapel chairs were seated in the lower parking lot for the overflow crowd. There were politicians, schoolchildren, housewives, senior citizens, doctors, lawyers, fishermen, ballplayers, just about everyone in the Frenchtown community, from babies to octogenarians.
Jean P. Greaux Jr. delivered the eulogy, tracing Danet's career from the time he was a member of the island's first Boy Scout troop in the early '40s, through the recent Sunday afternoon softball team, which he fielded. Greaux said, "'Magic' was truly in his element last June as he frolicked around 'Magicsville,' reminiscing about his earlier years, and how things had changed."
Sen. Lorraine Berry recalled seeing him recently at Tickles restaurant where he was breakfasting. "As he was going out the door, he somehow caught sight of my husband Richard and me, and he promptly made a complete about-face to greet us," she said. "That was 'Magic' – full of kindly gestures and courtesies, not only in major endeavors, but in the little ways that make life pleasant."
Hubert Raimer, American Legion Patrick U. George Post No. 90 commander, wrote to Lillian Danet: "Every member was shocked and saddened at the sudden death of your husband. I want you to know how keenly Magic's loss is felt by everyone here."
In the bright sunlight with church bells in the background, the mourners filed in a solemn procession down the hill from the chapel for the traditional walk to the Western Cemetery.
