Danny Altman (Tulia)

Danny Altman 77 of Tulia, Texas, was set free of his earthly chains to continue where he left off and aggravate his loved ones in heaven, who most likely left this earth to get away from his antics.

Born Daniel Irvin Altman Jr on May 1,1947 in Slaton Tx to Dan Altman Sr. and Billy Louise Greenfield was famous for his quick wit and mischievous humor. He made everyone laugh and everyone loved him for it, but usually at their own expense. Danny was the epitome of ornery and was NOT a safe place to keep your embarrassing secrets… don’t get caught doing anything silly in front of him, because oh how he relished in magnifying and exploiting anything he could get on you…and definitely don't sit next to him at a serious function because you will most certainly laugh out loud at the most inappropriate time. Danny was unequivocally…Danny.

In 1953, Danny with his family relocated from Post, Tx to Tulia, TX, there he grew up on the family farm where he had a lot of time to conjure up obnoxious schemes and pranks to torture his older sister Judy and younger brother Jack through out their childhood. To visualize Danny as a child, all one needs to do is watch Alfalfa on any episode of The Little Rascals and you’ll get the idea.

After Graduating from Tulia High School, Danny volunteered to join the United States Air Force in 1966 where he served honorably for 4 years with the 347th Tactical Air Support out of Dyess Air Force base in Abilene, Tx. Danny toured in Vietnam, earned the rank of Sergeant and was the Crew Chief on the Hercules C-130 aircraft, the war horse of its time. He very proudly and patriotically loved telling stories of his tenure in the Air Force and was probably one of the only times in his life that he was serious.

Danny married his high school sweetheart Freida Rousseau on June 24, 1967 and to this day we wonder how on earth Dad tricked Momma, who was an exceedingly prim and proper, more serious, nothing foul ever coming out of her mouth kinda lady, into marrying such a colorful individual because he devoted his life to tease and embarrass her on a daily basis. In typical Danny fashion, he even asked her to marry him on April fools day and we would question the validity of their marriage if not for the proof of life pictures. When Momma was asked why she fell in love with Dad, her answer was simple, “He made me laugh”.

After his 4 years in the military, Danny and Freida came back home to Tulia to make a life and continue farming. Danny sure wanted a boy to carry on the Altman name, but God showing his sense of humor blessed them with 3 daughters who he secretly adored even though he always told us that we were not his. If the saying is true that you only tease the people you love most, then us girls must have been the apple of his eye and were most certainly loved a lot….he always ensured that laughter was never absent from our home.

Danny stepped away from farming in the mid 1980’s when he began working for Farm Bureau which eventually led to a lengthy career with USAG crop adjusting. He then looked for something simpler and went on to act as the greenskeeper for a small stint with the Tule Lake Country Club. After losing his wife of 47 years, he left Tulia for a few years living in Hobbs NM and Aurora CO before coming back to his roots and living out the remainder of his life.

Danny loved to hunt, fish, golf, gardening, cooking (most notably his famous ribs or chicken fried steak and ‘mashed taters’), he loved bluebonnets, whisky, Paul Harvey, watching old westerns, and sports, but what he loved “mostess” was his role as Pappy to his 6 grandkids, in the hopes that he taught at least one of them to burp and cuss properly.

We know Heaven is a livelier place with him there, and we can’t help but think The Lord may be regretting his choice to call him home with his non stop talking and asking if he can “build him one” (a whiskey drink) and sorry Mom, we did the best we could to take care of him, keep him out of trouble and out of your hair for as long as we could, but he’s back in your court now…so good luck!

Danny was small in stature, but mighty in his presence, he was a dedicated provider, he lived hard, laughed hard, and loved even harder. He lived his life on full throttle, but had a quiet strength that came with profound wisdom, usually on what NOT to do per his own choices. He was the mighty oak under which his family flourished. His love for his family and friends fell like leaves and scattered with the panhandle wind. Danny was magnetic and enriched so many because of his humorous outlook on life. He wasn't perfect, but he was perfectly himself and we miss him deeply.

He is preceded in death by his wife Freida, daughter Jamie, father and mother Dan and Billy Altman, brother Jack, nephew Brandon Clark, brother in law Burell Jones Jr, and his father and mother in law Buddy and Elsie Rousseau.

He is survived by his daughters Nikki and Johnny Choate of Kingman AZ and Tami and Justin Byrd of Tulia,Tx, 6 grandkids, Lincoln Choate of Tulia, Sawyer Choate of Lubbock, Sayler Choate and fiance Seth Hopkins of Texarkana, Meghan Byrd of Tulia, Jerzi Byrd of Tulia, Rali Byrd of Canyon, Sister and brother in law Judy and Dickie Clark of Tulia, Brothers and Sisters in Law Paul and Dera Rousseau of Tulia, Debra and Mikeal Barnes of Tulia, Mary and Matt Robinson of Amarillo, Susan and Scott Meacham of Edmond Ok. and so many nieces and nephews whom he loved and loved to tease more than anything.

The stories could go on forever, but we’ll save some for a celebration of life planned for a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you make a donation in his name to Tunnels to Towers, a non profit that aids veterans and veterans families at T2T.org and when prompted put his name as the recipient and either this address to send a card, 128 Hillcrest Rd. Tulia, Tx 79088 or this email pappyaltman10@gmail.com for the recipient's family to be notified as we would love to thank you for it.

We wanted his obituary to reflect his personality with a little humor so to close in his own words….”Have you heard the one about…..”