Daniel Dwight Chelberg's Obituary
Danny was the sweetest guy ever and would give anyone the shirt off his back or his last dollar. He had a contagious, deep laugh, just like his Grandad, and loved that his Grandad called him Daniel Boone. He was born October 9, 1959 in Billings, Montana. He lived most of his life in San Diego, California.
On August 13, 2004, Danny was found beaten and left for dead on the side of a road. The perpetrators were never found.
We were told by doctors that he wouldn’t make it... they were wrong. He suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and remained in a coma for almost a year. His stepfather, Bert, had cancer and didn’t expect to live to see Danny recover. So Bert made many recordings of songs using his harmonica. In hopes that these familiar sounds would help Danny wake up, we played these for him while he lay in a coma. One of the last songs Bert recorded was the Irish ballad, Danny Boy.
Danny did wake up but not in time to say goodbye to Bert. He spent the last 15 ½ years in a nursing home bed because of the cruel actions of others. He was unable to use his body like he was accustomed – but he had his long term memory and loved telling and hearing stories of his youth, telling jokes, and singing familiar songs.
TBI is a brutal thing but, in some ways, it led to a real contentment in Danny. He no longer struggled with substance abuse. He had tremendous family support and knew was loved. He held no grudges, was not bitter, and cherished each and every visitor who came to see him.
A few short weeks ago he came down with Covid-19 in his nursing home and he beat it! A fragile TBI, non-ambulatory patient on a feeding tube beat Covid-19. (!)
None of us could visit him because of the pandemic lock-down, but we longed to celebrate with him and couldn’t wait for this pandemic to be over so we could see him. However, on the morning of July 29, he passed. His exhausted body gave way.
We will always love you Danny Boy . . . may you run, sing, laugh, and be with those you love forever. You are whole now.
Danny never married and had no children. He came from a big, loving, blended family with lots of siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, and uncles.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the San Diego Brain Injury Foundation at https://sdbif.org/ .
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