Obituaries
Douglas Dannay, 88
June 17, 2022
Douglas Dannay, 88, of Lancaster died Friday, June 17th at Hospice & Community Care, Mount Joy, after a brief battle with cancer. He was the devoted husband of Barbara, who predeceased him after 40 happy years together in Merrick, N.Y. and Lancaster.
Born on July 3rd, 1933 in Bronx, N.Y., he was the son of Frederic Dannay (a.k.a. Ellery Queen), and Mary (Beck) Dannay. He earned a B.A. in Psychology and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, then was awarded a M.A. in Teaching from Harvard University. He served in U.S. army intelligence before becoming a teacher of history and English (with a focus on poetry) at Roslyn Junior High School in Roslyn, N.Y.
Doug was an avid writer of novels and plays. After his retirement, he turned his lifelong love of literature into a rare book dealing business. A collector since childhood, Doug assembled one of the largest Arkham House book collections in the United States, as well as a wide-ranging collection of New York Yankees baseball cards.
For many years, he and Barbara enjoyed their condo on the Upper West Side, Manhattan, where they pursued a shared love of the theater, fine dining, and New York sports. He also loved board games, often creating his own, and was an excellent chess, backgammon, and ping pong player.
Surviving Doug are his son, Jeffrey (Kathryn) Dannay, his daughter, Elizabeth (Thomas) Grinnell, his brother Richard (Gloria) Dannay, and six grandchildren: Jill, Tim, Rachel, Rebecca, Ellen and Michael, and three great-grandchildren: Quinn, Ellery, and Gianni.
He is also survived by nieces, nephews, in-laws, and friends, including long-time friend and caretaker Coletta Smith. He also leaves his beloved dog, Pinter.
Interment will be private. Memorial contributions may be sent to: American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023.
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Condolences to the Family
September 22, 2022
Douglas Dannay was my seventh grade English teacher at Roslyn Junior High School. A year in his classroom so impressed my heart and mind of the value of teaching literature that I knew at age 12 that teaching English was what I would do. Mr. Dannay inspired us to read like writers, to grab hold of the seen and unseen messages in books, to try our hands at painting with words, to motivate us to think about what we read and to challenge each other to think more. There was life and exhilaration in his classroom.
I’m so thankful to have been his student.
My condolences to his brother, his children and grandchildren and all other close family and friends of this man so many of us were blessed to know as “teacher.”
July 16, 2022
I met Doug (and Barbara) probably 6 years ago when he called to hire my computer tech services.
I had the privilege of helping him with various tech issues and at the same time hearing tidbits of what sounded like a fascinating life. My deepest condolences to his family.
Sammy Bitar
Samir Bitar
