March 30, 2007 – Danny Linkey loved the sea, his friends, his family and his mean Maine Coon cat, Rocky. In short, Linkey loved life to the fullest.
That life came to a peaceful end March 20 on the island of Vieques, surrounded by friends and family.
Danny was 64. Rocky was 13. Danny's wife, Rochelle, says Danny and the recently deceased feline will take a last trip together when their ashes are spread — half on Vieques and half on Jost Van Dyke, where Danny lived a large part of the past year on his sailboat, Dulcinea. Danny had battled cancer for the past six and a half years.
Born in Toledo, Ohio, Linkey moved to St. Thomas in 1967. He and his lifelong buddy, Trent Lawrence, used to work for the legendary Art West at the old Yacht Haven dock, and at other island watering holes.
Danny was an integral part of the social scene on St. Thomas from the late '60s through the early '80s. Back in the '70s, Linkey and Sam O'Meara started the famous Sandbox bar, which overlooked Back Street in downtown Charlotte Amalie. The bar at that time was where the smart (or not so smart) set hung out, picked up mail and had a drink or two.
Lawrence eventually bought out Danny's interest in the bar. "He really wanted to go sailing," Lawrence says. And he did, even making ocean crossings.
Lawrence remembers, "The first hour I knew him, we hated each other's guts. We were bartending together; the second hour we got along fine. He became my best friend," Lawrence said. "We were very close."
That friendship continued over the years, though Lawrence remained on St. Thomas, and Linkey did lots of traveling.
Danny married his first wife, Carolyn, in the '70s. They built a boat on St. John called the Joshua D, after which they moved to Camden, Maine, where he opened an Italian restaurant. They had one son, Josh, now 30, who sailed with his father in local waters during his last several months.
Lawrence said the "nicest thing anyone ever did for me, was Danny telling me the truth about his cancer. It's shocking enough to most people [to have a friend die], but to have somebody thoughtful enough to let people know what was happening, the news is easier to handle that way.
"It made it easier for Danny, as well," Lawrence said. "That was pretty selfless, from my point of view."
Danny moved back to St. Thomas in the '80s and bought a North Side restaurant, which he named Ferrari's, after his Maine restaurant.
Years later, after Danny was diagnosed with cancer, he and Rochelle traveled to Germany, Mexico, and Houston, Texas, in search of a cure for the disease. When it became clear that no further treatment would enhance Danny's life, he decided to come back to the Caribbean he loved to spend the rest of his days on the sea and to visit lifelong friends.
Rochelle and her sister, Diane, spent Danny's last days at the Vieques home of Helen and Danny Davis. He told them that he was going to come back as a bird. "When I tip my wings and wink at you, wave at me," he instructed.
Darby Carstarphen, who knew Danny well and for years, shared this memory:
"Rarely does a man live life so full of joy in the face of his imminent end: intensely interested in helping with a new island sloop's construction, enjoying the gift of a lobster caught for him by a good friend, sailing to Miss Lucy's on a full moon night to see St. Johnians for dinner, and finally, quietly enjoying a shack on the beach in walking distance to a tiny sushi bar. He was ready. His Caribbean family will miss him so. Father, husband, sailor, friend … Fair Winds."
Rochelle says that, in lieu of flowers, Danny requested donations be made to: JVD (BVI) Preservation Society, Great Harbor, Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands.
For information on when the memorial services will be held, call Helen Davis on Vieques at (787) 741-7001 or (787) 458-7997, or via email.
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