With sadness we announce the passing of Duff Danilovich, beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend to so many. He died peacefully in his home of cancer. He was known for his profoundly positive outlook on life, his joy in living life to the fullest, and his deep love of family and friends. His presence will be missed and he will live on through all of us. 

Duff was born on August 6th, 1942 in Sacramento, CA to his parents Mary and Larry (Lazar) Danilovich. He grew up in the gold country foothills in Jackson, CA with his two younger siblings John and Jeanie. He attended Jackson High School where his father was principal. He played tennis, football, track, and basketball and won the “Best All-Around Athlete” award as well as graduated valedictorian of his class in 1960. His family was extremely active in the Amador County community and shared a great love of the outdoors. They all enjoyed camping, hiking, swimming, and skiing. He earned the honor of Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts. He later mentored his nephew Connor in achieving the same goal. 

He went on to study History and English at UC Berkeley where his mother had attended and his siblings later would as well. He played clarinet in the Cal marching band and loved being a part of the Lamda Chi Alpha Fraternity.  He received his teaching certificate at UC Berkeley as well and then went on to Northern Colorado University for a Masters in History and then to University of Arizona for work towards a doctorate in History, and later his Counseling and Administrative Services Credentials at CSU Hayward. He began his educational career in 1967 at Ygnacio Valley High School in Walnut Creek as a history teacher and swim coach. He then worked as a counselor at Northgate High School, an Assistant Principal at San Ramon Valley High and California High before culminating his career as Principal of Los Cerros Middle School for 19 years. There he was honored as Outstanding Educator of the Year. After retirement he continued coaching and mentoring new administrators from 2004 to 2016. 

He met his wife of 56 years, Claire, while they were both working for the summer in Lake Tahoe and they would later marry in 1967. As a young history teacher, Duff and Claire stimulated the travel bug when they chaperoned students on cultural study programs in several countries in Europe. Later they would travel on their own in a hippie VW van for a year through Europe and beyond. They came home and started their family having two daughters Shannon and Sarah. From then on they traveled all over the world to Africa to Central and South America, Asia and the US.

Duff loved to stay active and to be in nature. He loved tennis and played at Cal and was competitive in tournaments for decades. He spent every winter skiing and snowboarding. In the last 12 years he took up Pickleball and became an avid player, traveling for tournaments and enjoying the incredible community of friends he made. He hiked extensively and climbed Mt. Shasta, Mt. Whitney, the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu, Half Dome, and more. He loved swimming and snorkeling in Maui and he and Claire took their whole family there every year. Reading and sharing books was another favorite pastime and he was involved in several book clubs. He spent the last several years reading to his 4 grandchildren - he always had an ongoing book with each one.

Duff is lovingly remembered by his wife Claire, daughters Shannon Hopkins (Abraham), and Sarah French (Cash), grandchildren Jake & Jesse Hopkins, Finnegan Duff & Ferryn French, brother John, sister Jeanie, cousins, niece and nephews and many friends and colleagues.

To honor his memory donations can be made to two organizations of his choice: Walnut Creek Pickleball Club (walnutcreekpickleballclub.com) and Contra Costa Library (ccclib.org/donate/)

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