Walter "Danny" Dunaway, Sr.

Walter “Danny” Dunaway, Sr. firstborn child of the late Walter Raymond and Christine Bonnette Dunaway, and the sixth generation of Walters in the Dunaway lineage, died on Thursday, December 19, 2024. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at eleven o’clock a.m. on Monday, December 23, 2024 in the Folk Funeral Home Chapel, Williston, SC with the Reverends Melissa Williams and Doug Blaikie officiating. The family will receive friend one hour prior to the service on Monday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be given to the Barnwell County Animal Shelter Foundation, for low cost spay and neuter, P.O. Box 1009, Barnwell, SC 29812. 

Born on July 4, 1953, in Barnwell, SC, Danny grew up in Williston, SC, and attended Williston Public Schools where he was a standout basketball player and trumpet player in the school’s Marching Band. He attended college at the University of South Carolina graduating with dual bachelor’s degrees in Math and Psychology. He retired from the Savannah River Site as an Environmental Engineer. He was a member of the Williston United Methodist Church.

As a young adult, living in Aiken, Danny decided that he would learn to play the banjo. When he went to purchase one, it was more than he could afford. That’s when he spotted a harmonica for $5.00, and the rest is history. Completely self-taught, he spent years playing and perfecting his instrument, delighting hundreds of people with his music. He was lucky enough to play with many well-known bands, but also gave freely of his talent playing for charity events, schools, and Churches. He actually met his wife, Beth, in the cemetery at the first funeral he ever played. This was the beginning of a long, loving relationship.

Danny was an outgoing, loving man who never met a stranger. He had many friends, both in and out of the music business. He loved his family and his pups dearly and liked nothing better than to have them all around him. Besides music, his other love was his many beautiful plants that people enjoyed for years.

Danny is survived by his wife, Beth Seay Dunaway; sons, Walt (Nina) Dunaway, Jr., Jesse Dunaway, Lacy (Courtney) Williams; and daughter, Emily (Ben) Henrichs; his grandchildren, Baker Williams, Palmer Williams, Jeremiah Arwood, Jacob Arwood, Rose Dunaway, Everette Dunaway, Amilea Dunaway, and his namesake, Dani Christine Dunaway; a baby sister, Lisa (Stuart) Neal; best friend of 66 years Paul (Peggy) Sessions and a number of nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by a sister, Cathryn and her husband Martin Shannon.

Danny will be terribly missed by so many, but his beautiful music will live on forever. Play on, Dan.

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