In Loving Memory of Danny: Draper Family Support

Hello, this is Heather on behalf of Craig.

I am heartbroken to announce that my Father-in-Law, Daniel Draper, unexpectedly passed away on December 30, 2023 after suffering a heart attack while fighting an infection in the ICU. From the 27th of December until 1:14 PM on the 30th, we spent each day with him during his hospital stay. From the ER, to inpatient, to suddenly the ICU; each day we had a little more hope as he seemed to be improving, until things quickly took a turn for the worse. At 1:14 PM Danny finished his time on this Earth and, like I have been telling Craig, went on a new adventure where he doesn't have to feel pain any longer & can explore a new world.

This doesn't stop our pain though. This is new to us. I could write a five paragraph essay detailing the circumstances that have led me to creating this GoFundMe campaign but time is not my friend these days. Craig and I continue to take care of our neighbor with Alzheimer’s as we are his sole caretakers. We continue to tend to our own household issues which as of two weeks ago included a tree limb impaling our roof. Life, for us, was already at its most difficult during the year of 2023. The year surely wanted to make itself one to never be forgotten, in the most devastating of ways, right at the very end.

I'm sure anyone reading this has lost someone before. Grief is complex, heartwrenching, confusing, unimaginable, exhausting, sad, weird. My heart hurts because I lost my sweet Father-in-Law. My heart breaks watching Craig's heart hurt because he lost his precious Father. But, life doesn't stop for people when they are grieving. Life goes on and we find out a plethora of expenses we have incurred, need to incur, and/or will incur. Life goes on and we open a letter from Danny's bank today from his PO Box threatening litigation to his Estate over a negative account balance that is less than $1,000. They sent the letter just 2 weeks after he passed and gave us 10 days to pay them, or determine a payment plan, before they seek legal action. Oh, I failed to mention, there is no "Estate" so to speak as he didn't leave behind any assets; no life insurance, investments, money/bank accounts, etc. I'm not mentioning this in a sense of whining that Craig didn't receive an "inheritance" like a lot of people seem to in this world.

I'm mentioning this so that you can understand why I am creating this GoFundMe. Craig & I both started new jobs in 2023. We live paycheck to paycheck and took on so much debt over the course of 2022-2023 because of my forced job change. We barely can keep a roof over our head, pun intended, let alone pay for everything that comes along with the loss of his Dad, unmarried, and Craig being the only child. I have almost written that five paragraph essay I mentioned I was not going to write so I will wrap this up by simply saying that we are in need of financial assistance to cover the costs of his memorial service and other expenses. If you are able to contribute, it would mean the world to us. Any donation, no matter how small, will truly make a difference. I will outline a few things below that I took into account when trying to determine the dollar amount GoFundMe makes you enter. Again, anything truly helps. If you want to help in other ways, we would appreciate that as well. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions or want more information about anything I've mentioned in all of this.

Most sincerely, with so much love,

Heather + Craig Draper

Obituary for Danny Draper