Daniel Christopher Browne 1945 - 2026

Daniel “Danny” Christopher Browne was born March 19, 1945, in Vallejo, California. His parents were Daniel Browne, a proud Irishman, and Anita (Dolph) Browne, an equally proud woman of Spanish descent. He was the oldest of three siblings, predeceased by his sister, Susan Yen. His surviving sister, Connie Orta and her partner, David Miller, live in Vacaville, California. Danny died suddenly and peacefully July 1, 2026, in McMinnville, Oregon, while attending a weekly meditation group at First Baptist Church.

Danny arrived into the world a “blue baby” with a congenital heart defect. At that time, babies born with this defect died in the first three years of their lives. His first heart surgery was at age two, followed by two more heart surgeries; at 22, and again at 42. Recent medical advances allowed him to live a much longer life. Living to the ripe age of 81, it was proof he had beaten the odds.

He graduated from Chico State, where he studied Sociology and Psychology. His inner guidance led him to the helping professions where he was a social worker for local and state bureaucracies, schools and special poverty programs. He continued using his social work background as a hospice and chaplain volunteer. Danny worked for many years at APTC, a production physics lab in McMinnville.

After 20 years of employment being a social worker for the state of California, Daniel looked to the broader world and began a search for something bigger. That led him to hit the road, traveling up and down the West Coast. After a time, Tucson, Arizona, became his home, feeding 300-400 people a day in a soup kitchen. Danny earned $30 a month, plus room and board, inspired by the work of Dorothy Day and her mission of Peace and Justice for the Poor.

Moving to McMinnville in 2000, Danny started attending First Baptist Church after meeting the pastor, Kent Harrop, at a Portland anti-war protest. Kent invited him to a Sunday service.

Soon after, someone suggested he might want to try a Sunday school class, which was an alien idea to Danny. Bill Millar’s Bereans class proved to challenge him, along with what Danny describes as an intellectual standard in the church that allows him to learn and participate in a high-level discussion.

Surviving Danny are two step-daughters he loved immensely, both named Samantha--Samantha O’Neil and Samantha Moorhead. Emma, Sidney, and Drew Moorhead knew him as Grandpa. Danny also leaves his beloved partner, friend, and soulmate, Gloria LaFata.

Danny and Gloria met at First Baptist Church and became great friends. That changed one Christmas when Danny saw Gloria standing under the mistletoe. One kiss led to wedded bliss, each other’s “sweetie” for 12 years.

Gloria says Danny never really knew how much he impacted the hearts of all he knew and loved. He is remembered as a deep thinker, voracious reader, a lover of stimulating conversation, a great humorist, defender of truth and justice, and a master storyteller.

Questioning authority, of any kind, has led to some referring to him as an old curmudgeon, a reference he gladly accepted. If asked, Daniel would say “I’m a lucky guy.” Danny, we say to you, “We are the lucky ones!”

Donations in Danny's memory can be made to the Fellowship Fund at First Baptist Church, 125 S.E. Cowls Street, McMinnville, OR 97128. Donations are used to help people in need, regardless of who they are and what the need is. Danny Browne stood up for “the others,” ignored or forgotten.

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