Danny met Angela "Angie"
Cavalier through her brother
John who was a good friend
of his. Angie was the
daughter of Francis Cavalier
and Julia Alove. Angie
had been raised in Brockway,
which is in western
Pennsylvania.
Danny had about a month
remaining on his Navy
commitment when he and Angie
eloped to Elkton, Maryland
and were married on February
5, 1946. Four days
later on February 9th they
were remarried in Our Lady
of Consolation Church in the
Tacony section of
Philadelphia.
Witnesses to their marriage
were Mary Klebes, Danny's
half sister and John
Cavalier who was Angie's
brother.
About a month after their
marriage Danny was
discharged from the Navy.
Using the GI Bill to fund
his training, he worked for
about a year learning the
shoemaker profession under
the tutelage of Frank
Leonardo, a local shoemaker
with his shop at Frankford
Avenue and Knorr Streets.
He decided that he really
didn't like the work and
found another job. He
went to work at the Dodge
Steel Mill, which was
located at State Road and
Leverick Streets in
Philadelphia.
Photo: Dan and Angie's
wedding photo. courtesy of
Mary Jo Rydzewski.
Danny worked at Dodge Steel
until he had to retire on
disability as a result of
severe back problems when he
was 47 years old. He
had been having problems
with a slipped disk in his
back and was working at the
mill as a supervisor.
One day he was showing some
visitors around the mill
when someone, as a joke,
moved a transfer car and
Danny fell backwards and
landed on his back.
This was the final blow to
his already damaged spine.
He had 7 operations on his
back but was never able to
go back to work and was
permanently retired. After
his retirement he kept busy
by tinkering about the house
and doing little jobs that
he could do at his own
pace.
Danny and Angie lived and
raised their family
primarily in Northeast
Philadelphia and moved to
New York State for a short
time. In Philadelphia
they first had an apartment
at 7109 Torresdale Avenue
then bought their first
house which was on Ashville
Street. Needing more
room they next bought a home
on Unruh Street. This
was followed by a move to
another home on Algard
Street. Then they made
a big move and left
Philadelphia and moved to
the little town of Brushton,
Franklin County in upstate
New York. It turned
out that the town was a
poverty area and Danny and
Angie were worried about its
effect on their children so
they moved back to
Philadelphia after living
there about 15 months.
They then bought their final
home at 8602 Gillespie
Street in the northeast
section of Philadelphia in
1974.
Danny and Angie had four
children. They were
Daniel Patrick, Juliann
"Judy", Lisa Marie, and Mary
Jo.
After fighting a long battle
with lung cancer, Danny died
at Nazareth Hospital,
Philadelphia on August 3,
1993. He was buried at
Resurrection Cemetery,
Trevose, Pennsylvania
following a Mass of
Christian Burial at Saint
Dominic's Catholic Church in
northeast Philadelphia.
As of January 1997 Angie
remained employed in the
finance office of the U.S.
Navy Depot in Northeast
Philadelphia where she had
worked since the mid 1970s.
Following Danny’s death she
kept in close contact with
her children and
grandchildren. In
1998, her son Danny and his
wife Wanda came to live with
her in the family home at
8602 Gillespie St.,
Philadelphia, PA 19136.
In 2000, she moved to
Warrminster, Bucks County
Pennsylvania to live with
her Mary Jo. She lived there
until she passed away on
January 18, 2004. Following
Mass at Nativity of Our Lord
Catholic Church,
Warminister,
Pennsylvania she was buried
with Danny in Resurrection
Cemetery.
Note:
Dan's descendants included children
Daniel, Julian "Judy", Lisa and Mary
Jo and their Klebes, Manning, D'Asgenzo
and Rydzewski descendents.