Whether it was dancing, basketball or volleyball, she excelled.
The 17-year-old had recently been through an injury, finishing a weekend basketball tournament the following day after tearing her meniscus.
What about hip-hop dancing?
A total beast.
“She was all me,” her mother, Christine Marceline, said of her daughter’s personality. “Everything was all me.”
What was supposed to be a mother-daughter getaway last weekend turned into a tragedy.
Danielle died Dec. 3 in Cocoa Beach, Florida. She was swept away by the current as she swam in the ocean.
It was the day before his 18th birthday.
The loss ripped a hole in the family, devastating her father, Edwin, and older brother, Dante.
The Catholic high community where she attended as a senior is also in mourning.
“This is a tragedy that affects everyone in the school community,” said Giovanni Virgiglio, superintendent of schools for the Diocesan School Board of Albany.
The past few years have been challenging for Danielle, who changed schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lansingburgh Central pivoted to online-only classes when she was in her second year. As a result, Danielle transferred to Troy Catholic High School, where she resumed athletics without missing a step. Support from his former coaches and teammates continued despite the transfer; it was a testament to her personality, Christine Marceline said:
Hard. A bridge builder. Categorical. And a friend to all, especially underdogs.
“Even though Danielle changed schools, we didn’t lose this family,” Christine said.
Part of the teenager’s attraction to others was the result of how she demonstrated the values her parents instilled in her, including empathy, helping those less fortunate and expressing love. ‘humility.
Christine recalled a classmate named Manny. He adored his daughter and she adored him.
Danielle “never wanted to be one of those mean girls,” she said. “You don’t turn your back on a girl, especially boys. You have to support and uplift each other.”
While Danielle’s new teammates at Catholic High had reason to be jealous of a new star athlete, they embraced and cheered her on.
Yet while she quickly found a support network, anxiety meant the eldest missed three months of school this winter.
Christine has an autoimmune disease and her daughter wanted to protect her by staying home.
It wasn’t easy: ‘COVID has done a lot for the children by taking them out of their social environment and away from their normal teenage experiences, and it was very difficult for her,’ Danielle’s mother said. . in the best way. But at the end of the day, she always told me she loved me.
The trip to Florida was supposed to be a balm.
Danielle had planned it herself, researching and booking Airbnb: a dream vacation for her 18th birthday.
The couple brought along a family friend who was still reeling from the loss of her son in March and her husband in October.
The trip, they hoped, would lift everyone’s spirits.
Christine went to lunch last Friday, a trip that lasted no more than 20 minutes.
But by then her daughter had been swept away in the choppy waters.
Christine’s mind is still spinning. Danielle didn’t take any risks, didn’t look for trouble. She never threw wild parties at home and even bothered to take detours in tough neighborhoods.
Christine stayed in Cocoa Beach on Tuesday, wrapped up in the things her daughter slept in last night: her senior shirt and workout blanket.
The community has been an incredible ballast for the family, Christine said.
Just like the friend who accompanied them to Florida. “If she hadn’t come with us, my husband would have made the funeral arrangements for his wife and daughter – because I wouldn’t have made it,” Christine said.
“It was supposed to be an amazing mother-daughter weekend. It’s something she always wanted,” she added. “It was supposed to be the best weekend of his life and it took his life.”
To honor his memory, his family asks that people practice small acts of kindness.
“This world is just too hard,” Christine said. “There are too many things we just can’t control.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to help with commemoration costs. To donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/danielles-family-with-memorial-cost.
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