Danielle Doreen Boal

Danielle Doreen Boal, 49, of Mariemont, Ohio, passed peacefully Feb. 19 in the comfort of her home and in the care of her loved ones.

Warm and kind, quick-witted and fiercely loyal, Danielle was a beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother and friend. Breast cancer was part of her story but it did not define her. Her dry sense of humor endlessly entertained her loved ones, and her abiding devotion to her family and friends reflected her tender heart.

She will live on in the hearts of all who knew her. Danielle is survived by her husband, Matt Tripepi; children, Donald and Hannah; mother, Susan Shutter (Dave); father, Donald Boal (Lynn); sister, Elizabeth Shulof (Michael); niece, Emery, and nephew, Everett; in-laws, Eileen and Pat Tripepi; stepsisters, Amber Lepic, Janelle Cugliari, Brooke Epps and Jackie Cooke; and many friends and extended family.

Danielle was born May 15, 1976 in Kansas City, Missouri, but grew up in Pittsburgh, where she developed an allegiance to the Pittsburgh Steelers that no one—not even her husband, a staunch Cleveland Browns fan—could sway. Danielle loved to dance, especially with her sister. She excelled as drill team captain at Shaler Area High School before her 1994 graduation and took her skills to Miami University as a member of the Shakerettes Dance Team. She earned an education degree in 1998 and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. Her time in Oxford was just as impressive for the strong friendships she forged, some of which lasted over 30 years and highlighted by many memories together at Lake Wawasee in Indiana.

After college, Danielle followed her spirit of adventure to a brief career as a flight attendant, where she traveled to dream destinations including Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and London. Her friends were ecstatic when she returned to Cincinnati to pursue her master’s in education at Xavier University. She walked in the same graduation ceremony as her husband, whom she did not yet know.

When they did meet by chance at R.P. McMurphy’s bar, Matt immediately knew Danielle was special. He loved her laugh. He adored her sense of humor. They became steadfast companions who enjoyed simple moments—a walk, a tennis match, a bowling league—as well as grand adventures like visiting Scotland and the Dominican Republic. They dated while she worked as an aide at Lebanon High School and a counselor in Lakota Schools.

Matt proposed to Danielle by a waterfall at Fall Run Park in Shaler while family watched and celebrated from a distance. They married in 2007 at St. Mary Parish in Hyde Park and moved to Vancouver, BC soon after. They generously hosted many friends and family during their international sojourn and delighted in attending the Winter Olympics in 2010 when Vancouver was the host city, but they were eager to establish permanent roots and start a family with a return to Cincinnati.

Danielle and Matt were overjoyed by the births of their son, Donald, in 2011, and daughter, Hannah, in 2016. They found great joy in their adventures as a quartet, from attending Cincinnati Reds and Xavier basketball games to visiting relatives in three-quarters of the AFC North (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland) as well as Myrtle Beach, S.C. and St. Augustine, Fla. They cherished the support of their Mariemont community, with Danielle working at the Mariemont Community Church Preschool, the Village of Fairfax Playgroup, and as a member of the Mariemont Preschool Parents Group as well as the Mariemont Arts Association. She loved rooting for both kids in their soccer and basketball games and coaching Hannah in cheer. Danielle’s greatest legacy is, and always will be, her children, whom she loved deeply, proudly and unconditionally.

A celebration of life will be held at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, planting a tree or anything else that Legacy.com might promote on here, please consider making a donation to a GoFundMe supporting Danielle’s family at https://gofund.me/1db0fcf16
or to Cancer Family Care at https://www.cancerfamilycare.org/#donate