In Memory of Daniel Patrick Trant

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Met Danny thru hoops and played on some teams with him and against him....He was an excellent player....I was lucky enough to become friends with him when he was living in Northport and working at Cantor....I was with him and Kathy on one his birthdays with a group of other friends it was a great nite.....Crazy place called Lucky Chengs we had a great time.......Gerry

*** Posted by GERRY CORRIGAN on 2011-09-09 ***

I played basketball with Dan at Suffield Academy. Although he was a great shooter, it was his uncanny ability to pass the ball that I will always remember...whether it be a no look or behind the back bounce pass, he did it with ease. No-one I played the game with or competed against ever had the passing ability Dan did. I think of him every time the subject of 9/11 or Suffield Academy comes up. He was a guy everyone looked up to.

*** Posted by Dave LaJoie on 2011-09-09 ***

MOSELEY SCHOOL - DAN THE MAN - REMEMBERING THE GOOD DAYS.
WE ALL MISS YOU.

*** Posted by HANK CHRUSCIEL on 2011-09-04 ***

Dearest Dan,

We have never stopped thinking of you. We will always see that beautiful smile, hear that contagious laugh, and feel the warmth of your hugs. We're confident that you are in a better place, a place where there is no evil or hatred. May God bless your beautiful family.

Love,
Karen

*** Posted by Karen Waters on 2011-05-02 ***

I remember Dan from his post-grad year at Suffield Academy. Though I was only a lowly freshman at the time, Dan was always friendly in passing in the halls. Dan will never be forgotten.

*** Posted by David McAusland on 2011-05-02 ***

As I stumbled across this website, many memories of Danny flashed through my mind. I remember playing baseball against him several times in the Westfield Little League and Babe Ruth Leagues.

My condolences to the Trant family as they have to endure the pain of their loss each and every day. 9/11 was a terrible day in US history, and the fact that so many like Danny perished on that day makes it even worse. May his memory remain strong.

*** Posted by Steve White on 2011-03-06 ***

I was an alumna from Clark the same year as Dan. I remember hearing his name all the time and seeing him on campus. He was the star basketball player, and a celebrity. I am so sorry to hear about this tragic loss. I just found out today via Facebook. Love and peace to his family and friends.

*** Posted by Wendy D. Pincus Connelly on 2010-09-11 ***

I had the pleasure of seeing Danny as a young person, although we are the same age and graduated together. I was a wannabe cheerleader at the ripe age of around 10 or 11. I am not quite sure of how old we were, but I first noticed Dan playing basketball, and the one thing that struck me was his size and how could he possibly play against all of these taller kids. This was at Southampton Road School. I used to sit on the stage and hold up the score cards and cheer away with my fellow wannabe cheerleaders. After grammar school and those years of watching that he was one of the best basketball players that I had seen. One occasion was a game that their team was losing only by a point, and Danny launched the ball across the court, and he made the basket. It was amazing because it came from him, the smallest player on the team. Later on, after middle school, I started Westfield High School, where I again met up with Danny from a distance but watched his career all the same and just knew that he was someone special and the person that got to share that life with him would have an amazing life. I was never interested in him but as a friend but reveled in the idea that I had known who he was and what a kind person he was. I was saddened by the news when I heard that he was in this horrible tragedy 9-11, and it saddened me that god had taken such a special soul from this world. I will always have my memories of watching him play from a very small boy and got to also see him grow up as a man. Danny will always be thought of and remembered. Everyone that knew him was saddened by his death.

*** Posted by Betty (Jasmin) Pouliot on 2010-02-06 ***

I covered basketball for an Irish newspaper in the 1980s, and I was lucky enough to interview Dan. It shocks me that I have only just discovered that he was a victim of 9-11. Like a lot of Europeans, I find the United States infuriating and inspiring in turn: Dan was a personification of the good side. He was brash (to an Irish eye), open, and optimistic; he was looking forward to a brighter future, and you hoped he’d get there. It is a shame that a man like that, and one who built up a good family around him, should be taken in the way he was.

Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.

*** Posted by Liam Gorman (Dublin, Ireland) on 2010-01-05 ***

Remembering Dan on the 8th Anniversary of his death and 9/11. May his family remember most his light hearted spirit and his terrific smile!
Beth Soederberg
WHS '79 class mate

*** Posted by Beth Pullen Soederberg on 2009-09-11 ***

I am so sorry about your loss. I hope you are doing ok. How are your sons.

Sincerely
Blake♥

*** Posted by blake on 2009-09-11 ***

I just received the Dan Trant Scholarship from Westfield High School a week ago. I was never blessed to meet Dan, but I am incredibly honored to be associated with such an awesome person. I pray for Dan's family, and I hope that I can live up to his name.

God bless,
Chris Whelan

*** Posted by Chris Whelan on 2009-06-09 ***

My sister and I recently went back to our hometown and toured the Westfield MA High School. I was '80, she '89. We were stunned to realize that 9-11 had taken a hometown hero. I wanted to let the Trant family know that, though we did not know Dan personally, we offer up our prayers. I also wanted to let the family know that the scholarship plaque is beautifully displayed in the front of the school. Also, a framed plaque with his jersey, yearbook picture, and memorial is hanging proudly in the back of the school by the gym. I definitely remember passing his beautiful face in the hallways. My sympathy to all the family.

Sincerely,
Cathryn Quinn Foley

*** Posted by Cathy Quinn Foley on 2009-04-07 ***

Brushed shoulders with Dan a few times as an assistant basketball coach at Norwich University, most notably in the 1984 NCAA Northeastern Regional Playoffs, hosted by Norwich. My recollection is that Dan and his gang pulled off a 2-4 point win in a game tied in the last few minutes. While he had a big game with several long-range shots, my favorite moment was when he silenced a wise-cracking bench-riding freshman of ours (later to become an All-American), whose brother was our current All-American. Our frosh was trying to trash talk Dan, who calmly hit a jumper and jogged by our mention, offering: "Your brother can say whatever he wants—but you, you can't say a word!" My guy was speechless, for the only time in what proved to be four years. Teammates never tired of playing the role of Dan Trant in many re-enactments of that moment over the years. Dan had a sense of the moment that went well beyond chastising a trash-talking frosh. What a fine guy.

—Bill Warnken

*** Posted by Bill Warnken on 2009-01-13 ***

I had the pleasure of playing basketball with Dan in Ireland. He was an excellent teammate and friend. His unparalleled ability as an athlete was only exceeded by his wit, charm, and kind-heartedness. I only found out today about his passing. May he rest in peace. My sympathies to his family.

*** Posted by Frank Lawlor on 2008-09-22 ***

I attended Clark University and lived next door to Dan my freshman and sophomore years. Our junior and senior years we remained friends, and I think lovingly of him and your family often. He was one of the first people I met that first day. I remember how weird I thought that there were so many BIG guys (from the B-ball team) coming to visit that day and asked, "Who is that guy?" I was told he was going to be Clark's next basketball star, and that proved to be truer than I could have even imagined. Although I certainly was no basketball player, I did receive the Clark B-ball scholarship for the Worcester County area 'cuz I guess no other real player had been accepted from the area that year. I remember my first conversation with Dan, and I thought I'd tease him by telling him I was the scholarship winner! He just looked at me, 5'8" tall, and asked what position I played. Of course I told him "point guard," and he looked at me puzzled and said, "Really?" I couldn't keep a straight face and burst out laughing, as did he. We laughed a lot together over the years and also went thru some difficult times in our circle of friends. We didn't keep in touch, but when we did see each other a couple of times after Clark, I can say I was very happy to see him.

I also remember one game during our sophomore year when Dan was playing against a point guard that I went to high school with and who was a real jerk--I couldn't stand him. When I saw this guy on the court that night, I strolled down courtside and called Dan over from warmups. He looked at me puzzled and asked what was up--I just looked at him so seriously and told him, "See that guy? Do me a favor, and EAT HIS LUNCH tonight!" And boy, he really did! We had another good laugh at a party afterwards talking about it.

Those are my Dan stories I remember most vividly and will treasure them always. I hope the years have brought all of you some peace and solace in knowing that he remains in the palm of the hand of God and watches over you. Tonight, all of you will be in my prayers. May God bless and keep you until you are reunited with him.

David "True" Trudeau

*** Posted by David Trudeau on 2008-09-11 ***

I won the Daniel Trant Memorial Scholarship back in May in Dan's hometown. I am brought nearly to tears reading what Dan's family and friends had to say about him. It seems that he was an amazing person that touched many lives and I would have loved to have met him. I am sincerely honored to be associated with Dan in the least. His family remains in my thoughts and prayers, especially on this very sad day. Rest In Peace.
<3 Sam
Westfield, MA

*** Posted by Samantha Whalen on 2008-09-11 ***

Hello. I am a student at Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, FL, doing a project on Dan Trant, and I would like to express my sympathy to your family, and may the Lord bless your family with love and support to overcome this tragedy!

*** Posted by Jeremy Delacruz on 2007-12-20 ***

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be ever at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall softly on your fields
And until we meet again, May God hold
you in the hollow of his hand

Sully

*** Posted by Brendan Sullivan on 2007-09-11 ***

Today was bittersweet when I think about Danny. My fondest memory about him was in the summer of '85. We were coaches at the College of the Holy Cross basketball camp. We had known each other for a few years. We had played against each other many times in summer leagues and pickup games at Clark and just about every court that had a rim on it. We had been rooming together for about 2 weeks, and Danny would be up all night drawing up plays and could not wait to get them kids on the court and work out the X’s and O’s. Those little kids we coached have no idea the spark that lit in our eyes when we were coaching them. He was so happy when they made a basket or made a great play. He was so encouraging to them. I knew that day he was going on to some day be a big time college coach or coach just about anyone that would listen.
Danny was always the guy you wanted to play with, not against. He was never the biggest guy on the court, just the one with the biggest heart. It was a great time to be a basketball player from Worcester back then. There were so many kids that got drafted or played professional ball here or overseas.

We were at Castle Hill one night playing in the wee hours of the morning. Back then it was the only place to play all night because the lights from City Hospital were always on. We were matched up against Dwayne McClain, Ernie Floyd, and Larry Hampton, and they were all drafted by the NBA. Danny was the only one on our team who was drafted. I thought we were so overmatched. Danny’s competitive fire was so intense. He was playing like he was still playing for the national championship again. He must have shot from every corner of the court. I mean he was possessed. Everything he put up went in. I can't remember if we won or not. It was just some pickup game. He played like it was the last game he'd ever play. I lost contact with Danny over the years. I think I've seen him one or two times. I just know that all those kids he had been coaching all those years later are better people for being around him. Danny was the nicest guy. I never heard anyone say anything otherwise. I remember him and Kevin Clark sitting in the bleachers at Clark University and just talking about every play. That image of them just sitting there dissecting was like watching a pair of artists, conductors at a symphony. That image of his big smile will always stay with me. Today my prayers are out to his wife and children. He lived his life with a big smile, and he enjoyed every minute. I can only hope that his family can find the joy that he had and smile every time they think of him.

God Bless,
Jerry Urso
Jacksonville, FL

*** Posted by Jerry Urso on 2007-09-11 ***

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