Theodore Allan "Ted" Danley

Ted was born in Springfield, Illinois, on January 31, 1949. He was born again at an early age when he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. His death on November 21, 2022 led to an eternal life of living with his Savior, Jesus Christ, where there is neither worry, fear, sickness, suffering, dying, nor sorrow. He now knows a happiness and peace he has been looking forward to for most of his life on earth.
God's purpose for Ted's life on earth is finished, and he is now reunited with his parents, the late Theodore Elmo Danley and Viola Marie Anderson, and his sister, Marilyn Kay Danley. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Barbara Mulberry Danley, of Mauldin, SC, two children, Shawna Leone Pearl (Donald) of Hendersonville, NC, and Nathan Theodore Danley (Lydia) of Mauldin, SC, two sisters, Patricia Marie Danley of Normal, Illinois, and Janet Lou Davidson (Dale) of Dale City, Virginia, and several nephews, nieces, and cousins.
After graduating from Divernon High School in Divernon, Illinois in 1967, he attended John Brown University for a few years and transferred to the University of Arkansas where he graduated in 1972 with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering.
In 1972, Ted started his career as a principal engineer at Babcock and Wilcox in Akron, Ohio, and he served in several capacities in the nuclear power industry throughout his career. In 1976, he transferred to Lynchburg, Virginia, where he resided until 1990. Ted left Babcock and Wilcox in 1990 to reside in Bloomington, Illinois, so he could be near his mother and help meet her needs after his father passed away. At that time, he began working at Clinton Nuclear Power Station, Clinton, Illinois, until he retired in 2011.
When Ted met Barb in 1980, he knew that she was the one. She took more convincing. In her opinion, the ideal husband was a preacher (tall, dark, and handsome). Ted was 5'8" with fair skin and dark hair. While he took every possibility to drop obvious hints of his intentions, Barb did her best not to impress him a bit. She felt safe that things would not go anywhere with him since he lived in Virginia and she in Colorado. What could one do living over 1500 miles apart? Well, God had His plans for them all set.
Two weeks after Ted met Barb, his office put in a WATS line for long distance calls. The company allowed employees to use the system to call anywhere in the United States and talk as long as they like before and after working hours. Ted and Barb were able to talk uninterrupted every morning and evening. The line was removed three weeks after they were married.
Ted kept praying to God for children, even after doctors said he and Barb would not be able to have any. It was a difficult time for him, and it took over four years for him to accept the fact that God was not going to give them children. He came to the realization that they needed to figure out what God wanted them to do with their lives and get busy doing it. A month later, Barb became pregnant. Blue-eyed Shawna was born. When Ted told one of the specialists about Shawna's birth, the doctor's response was "Well, that was just a fluke. It won't happen again." Ted responded, "Yes, it will. I asked God for a son. He owes me a son." Twenty-five months later, Nathan was born. Ted wanted a boy, and Barb wanted a baby with blue eyes. God blessed them with both.
Before meeting Barb, Ted had a time in his life when he had gotten away from the Lord. After several years of this, God put him in the intensive care ward of a hospital in Virginia for a week. Having chest pains one day, he drove himself to the doctor's office. They wired him for testing and found he was having a major heart attack. Thinking he had "bought the farm", Ted started apologizing to the Lord for his sins, making things right with God. He told Him that if He got him out of this, he would serve Him the rest of his life. Come to find out, the assistant at the doctor's office had crossed the wires when testing him. There had been no heart attack. From then on Ted cherished a close relationship with the Lord, and he was faithful serving the Lord through soul winning, teaching Sunday school class, serving as a deacon, pulpit committee, driving the church bus, setting up and running a sound system, and anything else he was asked to do.
Ted was generally a quiet, introverted man, but he was also friendly. He would become claustrophobic in malls and unnerved when in a crowd of people but would usually walk away with a new friend. He had a funny whit that would always come out when it was least expected. His honesty and integrity were his greatest attributes. He would not knowingly lead someone into believing something that wasn't true, and he often had to stand up to his superiors at work in order to maintain his testimony when he was asked to cut corners. He always tried to forgive as the Lord forgave him. When having anything against a brother or sister in Christ or even an unsaved coworker he would try and make things right. He was a wonderful husband. When Ted and Barb married, he stopped going out nights to play basketball and on weekends riding bicycles up the Blue Ridge Mountains with the guys. He didn't marry Barb "to leave her at home nights so he could spend them with the boys." His favorite thing to do was to stay home and always be in the same room she was in. He was always amazed that God had given Barb to him for a wife.
His children received scriptural and spiritual training from the time they were babies, and Ted made sure the family was faithful in attending churches that taught the truth of God's Word. He worked hard, long hours so Shawna and Nathan were clothed, fed and sheltered. They were provided with an education at Christian schools and college. They had musical instruments to meet their needs as their abilities grew, and he attended all their recitals and concerts. They enjoyed mystery trips, surprise in-the-middle-of-the-night ice cream raids.
Ted had a very close Jewish friend and co-worker at Babcock and Wilcox. Ted was not living for the Lord when they became friends. But when Ted got his heart right with God, he went to Lou and explained that he could not continue living in sin. Lou respected Ted for his openness and wanted to continue being Ted's friend. Ted had many opportunities over 40 years to talk with Lou about his soul. Sadly, Lou passed away without our knowing if he ever made a decision for Christ.
There will be a visitation on Saturday, November 26, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. at Bible Baptist Church in Normal, IL followed by the funeral service to honor Ted's life at 11:00 a.m. Burial will be in the Brush Creek Cemetery in Divernon, IL.
For those in the Greenville area, there will be a memorial service on Thursday, December 1st at 7:00 p.m. at Mount Calvary Baptist Church.
Ted was burdened for unbelievers, and he believed that one of our responsibilities as Christians is to witness to the Jew first. So, in memory of Ted, the family is asking that instead of flowers, please make a donation online or by mail to: Shalom Ministries, Inc. 2429 Coyle St., Brooklyn, NY 11235. shalomnyc.org.