Danny May

Danny May, beloved husband of Linda May (nee Linz). Passed away November 19, 2025 at the age of 72.

Visitation Saturday, November 29, 2025 from 10:00 A.M. until time of funeral service at 12 noon at the Neidhard-Minges Funeral Home, 10385 New Haven Rd., Harrison, OH 45030. Burial to follow at Glen Haven Cemetery. A celebration of life will follow from 1:00-4:00 P.M at Hearth brewing in Harrison, Ohio.

He is survived by his beloved wife Linda, step-son Dennis Jay (Tasha) Helcher, Jr., brothers Mike (Pam), Pat (Cheryl) & Kelly (Julie), sister in-law Laura (Eric Kunkel) and special brother-in-law, Bill Linz. Danny was known as Cool Uncle Danny to nieces and nephews.

Danny was born June 6, 1953, Daniel Edward May to parents Don & Mary May. Growing up, Danny could be found tinkering on go carts in the garage, hanging with friends in the log cabin and ice skating on the May pond. He graduated from Oak Hills High School, Class of 1972.

Danny opened Dan May Paint & Body in Cheviot, Ohio shortly after graduating high school. There he began a 40 plus year career of building custom hot rods and street machines, restoring classic cars, and painting custom motorcycles. In his 20's Danny took his talent to California where he opened Classic Auto Body in Berkeley. It quickly grew into a successful business.

Danny had gasoline in his veins and a heart that beat in time with a revving engine. He loved cars of all kinds - classics, racers, anything with curves and horsepower - but it was the world of racing that truly lit him up.

He started out touring the country's tracks in a humble Datsun 710, eventually leveling up to a custom-built Roush Ford Thunderbird to compete in the Trans Am Series. If it involved racing, Danny was all in, and behind the wheel he was nothing short of exceptional.

He ran courses from Niagara Falls to Detroit, Dallas to Lime Rock, the Mid-Ohio Trans Am and the Grand Prix of Long Beach, always keeping the competition honest and the crowd on edge. His talent showed in quiet ways and spectacular ones too - like the club race where he showed up late, skipped qualifying entirely, started dead last, and the moment the green flag dropped to start the race, carved his way through and around ten cars to land in third position by the second lap. That was Danny: full of surprises, fueled by passion, and blessed with an instinctive feel for speed.

Danny competed in both the SCCA Trans Am Series and IMSA races nationwide, earning sponsorships with Ford Motorcraft, Roush Racing, 7-Eleven, Jimmy Z Sportswear and other national brands, all while piloting some of the best-prepared machines in the sport. Along the way, he forged personal friendships with drivers and crews across the country - including names like Paul Newman, Carroll Shelby, and Steve Saleen - not only because he was talented, but because he was simply a great guy. His warmth, humor, and easygoing presence made him someone people naturally gravitated toward, on and off the track.

After retiring from racing Danny moved back to Cincinnati purchasing a wonderful property in Harrison, Ohio that he referred to as Valhalla. Together, with his wife Linda, they opened Classic Auto Body in West Harrison, Indiana specializing in Mid-Year Corvette Restoration and Collision Repair. He had a talent for making a car straight, Corvette gaps better than original and painting cars with no fish eyes, no orange peel and paint that was so smooth it did not need buffing.

One particular day Danny received a call from a past customer asking him to build a "Batmobile". Never turning down a challenge, Danny and his team jumped in and built a replica featuring telescoping machine guns that raised up out of the front fender, a turning turbo in the front and a flame thrower in the rear of the car. A video of this special car can be viewed on youtube.com- search Danny May Gotham Cruiser.

Danny retired from Classic Auto body in 2021 to enjoy life with Linda at Valhalla. He continued to work in his home shop where he finished building a 1971 C10 pick-up truck. The truck embodies his creative talent, his attention to detail and a love for custom street machines.

Each day Danny lived life to the fullest. As he often said, "It Has Been a Great Ride"

Remembrances from Danny's brother Pat:

Dan'l, as I called him because of my interests in the hunting and trapping legend Daniel Boone, had the uncanny ability to exceed in his passion for doing the best job that he could on all of his restoration efforts which included paint and body work on all types of automobiles (vintage, muscle cars, luxury, etc.)

When we were younger, I "let" him practice on some of my motorized possessions. When Danny was 14 or 15 he painted my go-cart and then moved up to my '64 International Harvester pickup truck and eventually on to my 1970 Nova. Each time his work got better and better.

Danny enjoyed "building" a vehicle from a single frame (sometimes salvaged from an old barn) and continuing working on the vehicle until it was a complete finished product- done to perfection! Anyone who knew Danny would agree that he was proud of his accomplishments, even being a race car driver.

Danny, I always enjoyed listening to you tell me how you worked on things. May you rest in peace, Dan'l.

Remembrances from Danny's brother, Kelly

Wow! How can I even begin to wrap up my life and relationship with my brother Dan. Growing up as kids, we were always messing around with go-carts, minibikes, cars, etc. almost anything that had a motor, a fuse, or a wick. I remember on Monday mornings after the Cavalcade of Customs car shows, running to the kitchen to see what trophy Dan had won.

I have tons and tons of stories about Dan. As we got older, we hung around riding motorcycles, having a beer (BEERS) and just being bros.

You will truly be missed Dan. I love you. Your little brother, Kelly.