Daniel Jefferson Grossman

1943 - 2022

Daniel Jefferson Grossman passed away on September 1st, 2022 in Marin County, California at the age of 79.Danny was born on April 13th, 1943, in Waban, Massachusetts, a small town west of Boston. Of three children, Danny was the oldest and the tallest. He grew up in a second generation American-Jewish family that worked together and got together every Sunday for elaborate meals and discussions about business, the world, and life in general. As a child Danny was loved and cherished, having been born during the Second World War, when life seemed so fragile. He attended Angier Elementary, Warren Junior High School, and Newton North High School. At 7 feet tall, his height would define him as a larger-than-life figure to all who knew him.Danny spent his childhood surrounded by family. He especially adored his unique, charismatic grandfather, Maxwell, who was known by the family and community as the Colonel. Max was the Massachusetts Commissioner of Correction, and he occasionally brought Danny to the Charles Street Jail to hang out with the prisoners for an afternoon. Danny's parents were outraged, but Danny and Max had a thing. He was explorative, never afraid of an adventure. His parents often recalled that when Danny was three, he left the house alone, got on the train in Brookline and went to visit Max at his apartment on Beacon Hill.Danny was always comfortable in new situations and made friends easily. As a child, Danny summered in Nantasket with his parents, Jerome and Roslyn Grossman, sister Marilyn, and brother Richard. On these trips, his adventurous nature bloomed. From the age of four, he would leave the house in the morning and wander among the fishermen at the pier. A lifelong lover of food, he always reappeared for lunch and dinner, but it was clear to his family from the beginning that his free spirit could not be confined to the home or the neighborhood.After high school, Danny went to work for the family business, Massachusetts Envelope Company. His skill as a networker and conversationalist made him an extremely successful salesman. He was memorable, with good looks and charisma to match his extraordinary height. He loved entertaining clients, friends, and strangers, with his youthful exploits and laughter. He worked all over New England, and maintained partnerships and friendships wherever he did business. As adults, Danny and his sister Marilyn rented summer houses in Gloucester, MA and spent evenings and weekends at parties with friends and family. One lucky day Danny met a waitress at a restaurant who would have an indelible and lasting effect on his life. Dorothy Cotton was the first person to identify Danny as a West Coast spirit, and immediately encouraged him to move. By then he was an integral partner in the family business, and these responsibilities kept him in Massachusetts through the early 1970s.in 1974 the Massachusetts Envelope Company was sold and Danny, on the precipice of a sea change, went on vacation to Italy. In Rome he met William Feldman, who invited him to visit his home in Mill Valley, CA. Danny felt immediately at home there. Always keen on an adventure, he returned to Boston, packed his worldly possessions into his new brown Mercedes, and drove straight back to San Francisco. In 1978 he bought his forever home in Tamalpais Valley, California, where he would spend the next 44 years building a sanctuary, a community, and a family.Danny was one-of-a-kind: accepting, outspoken, smart, charming, funny as hell, and freely giving of advice. He shared his reverence for California with friends from near and far, tooling his Mercedes around the hills and showing off the vistas of Marin, sharing the world as he saw it with all those he loved. Danny saw his family as his greatest accomplishment in life. In 1989, he met a beautiful woman who was selling jewelry in San Francisco. They quickly fell in love, and he was married to Priscilla (Billi) Green from 1990 2002. During that time they were blessed with two children. Jessie and Sam Grossman were the joy and focus of Danny's life. During their childhood, he spent several hours every school day volunteering at Tam Valley Elementary - directing traffic during student drop-off in the morning, serving as a fill-in teacher's aide and custodian during classes, and monitoring the playground during recess and after school. As always, his comfortable, towering presence was a spectacle to children, parents, and staff alike.Danny could never brag about his own kids enough, sharing an endless stream of anecdotes with anybody who would listen, unable to contain the love, respect, and pride he felt for them. As a father, he was caring and generous, passing on his love for storytelling, humor, and life's indulgences.Danny was a creature of habit, and throughout his life had many places he frequented with regularity: listening to music at 19 Broadway in Fairfax, playing in bridge tournaments in Terra Linda, and holding court over coffee with beloved friends every morning at Coyote Café in Tam Valley.Danny was a free spirit, a lover of fun and laughter, and he maintained a community everywhere he went. He is survived by his children Jessie and Sam Grossman, his sister Marilyn Jackson, and the scores of lifelong friends and family who loved and adored him.Danny - Bye for now. May your memory be a blessing to us all.