Safety Harbor Mourns Sudden Passing of Valued Volunteer

Danny Donovan, a volunteer with the Safety Harbor League for more than 20 years, was found deceased in a dugout at one of the City Park fields on Monday.

The 58-year-old was instrumental in the day-to-day operations of the league, doing everything from lining the fields to ordering the uniforms, according to league officials.

His passing came as a great shock to those who knew and worked with him. 

“This was completely unexpected,” former league president and current board member Eric Burks said.

Even more distressing than Donovan’s sudden passing was the manner in which he was found. 

“Danny would arrive every day around one o’clock and start preparing the park for the games,” Burks explained. “Yesterday when someone arrived at five o’clock, they saw his truck but couldn’t find Danny.

“After searching for him for a few minutes, he found him in one of the dugouts; he called Safety Harbor Fire and Rescue, and they declared him deceased.”

Parents, coaches and players past and present have flooded the league’s Facebook page with comments and condolences for Donovan, who, according to Burks, had no children but took care of his elderly mother and brother. 

City officials have also expressed sympathies over Donovan’s passing. City Manager Matt Spoor wrote via email: 

“Danny was a huge contributor to the success of the Safety Harbor Little League.  Often times people that work this hard go unnoticed, they prefer to work in the shadows, but without them nothing happens.  Danny was one of those people.  A hard worker, reliable, always asking what he could do to help others, never asking for anything in return.  A great person and better soul.  Danny did it all so that local kids would have a great place to play baseball/softball. “

Burks echoed Spoor’s sentiments. 

“He wasn’t overly social, but he did everything behind the scenes. He did all the admin work, ordered the uniforms, repaired the gear and handled parent and player issues as well.”

"He really did it all."

At the time of this writing, funeral arrangements were not known. Burks said the league was holding an emergency meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss how and when they will recognize Donovan, and how they will move forward without him. 

“He had the wisdom, the knowledge and the experience. He was the heart and soul, the backbone, of our league,” Burks said. “How do you replace that?”

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