Danny L. Kolwyck

Danny Lynn Kolwyck, 70, was born in Lexington, TN on Sept. 14th , 1950 to Ohlon & MayBell (Woods) Kolwyck. Danny grew up on a farm outside Lexington surrounded by his 2 favorite things, FAMILY & ANIMALS. As an adult he lived in TN with his family until 1990 when he made the huge decision to move w/ his 2 kids, from his much-loved home in TN to MO for an even greater love, Debbie. They were united in marriage 9/14/90 (Danny’s 40th  birthday....so he would never forget their anniversary!). As his family expanded even more with Debbie’s 2 kids (that he treated like his very own), they also a year later welcomed a new baby making him the proud father of 5.

Along with his w/his wife, they loved ALL animals, but decided to focus on raising exotic animals as he was concerned by the decreasing numbers of so many species in the wild. As their farm grew, so did his immense knowledge. SO MANY people turned to Danny over the years for SO MANY answers! He never realized his love of educating people, especially kids, would turn into his life-long dream come true....SAVANAHLAND EDUCATIONAL PARK. Danny was able to share his knowledge with that many morepeople day in and day out. He did programs at the park and he also did outreach programs. As time went on, Savanahland & the Kolwyck family started working with many foster care programs, Operation Breakthrough & Cornerstones of Care just to name a few. After very little discussion, Danny & Debbie having 4 of their 5 kids grown and a few grandkids at this point decided they wanted to do something to help. So, over the next 13 years, Danny & his wife Debbie offered their home and their hearts to 323 foster children, some for hours and some for years. In 2007, they decided to give permanent homes to their last 2 foster children. Over the next 5 years many things changed, animal laws in MO & Danny’s arthritis. He was tired of Missouri winters!!! So, in 2012, Danny moved his wife, his youngest 3 kids and his ANIMALS to Florida. Danny has enjoyed many visits from his kids, grandkids and friends over the past 8 years in his WARM Florida home. And, in Danny fashion, was talking about animals until the day he left us.

Danny is survived by his wife, Debbie, his children, Mary (Pete) Guerra of Lexington, TN, Shannon (Jay) Quick of Odessa, MO, Randy (Jennifer) Kolwyck of Ten Mile, TN, Casey (Joy) Heflin of Pleasant Hill, MO, Shaylynn Kolwyck (Alex Peterson) of McAlpin, FL, Kassidy Kolwyck of McAlpin, FL, Josiah Kolwyck of McAlpin, FL, 7 grandsons, 3 granddaughters and 2 great-grandsons. Two brothers, a sister and their spouses, numerous nieces & nephews and many, many dear friends also survive.

Funeral services for Mr. Kolwyck will be conducted on Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at 3:00 P.M. in the Gateway-Forest Lawn Memorial Chapel. The family will receive friends from 2:00-3:00 P.M. (one hour prior to the services) at the funeral home. Interment will follow on Saturday, September 26, 2020 at 10:30 A.M. in the Union Grove Cemetery in Lexington, Tennessee. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations please be considered to the St. Jude’s Children Hospital. For those attending the services, CDC guidelines regarding social distancing and masks will be followed. Those wishing to view the services live, may go to the funeral home Facebook page, Gateway-Forest Lawn Funeral Home and Crematory to see the live stream feed of the service.

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