The sad news broke yesterday that Neil Peart's younger brother Danny passed away this past Thursday, March 13th after a nearly 2-year battle with Glioblastoma, the same disease that took his older brother Neil over 5 years ago. Neil and Danny's sister Nancy Peart Burkholder confirmed Danny's passing in a post in the Peart Family Events Facebook group:
On this dreary Sunday it is with great sadness that we share that this past Thursday evening we lost our third Peart man and 2nd brother, Danny, after his year and a half battle with glioblastoma (brain cancer). Danny shared our amazing Peart traits that all of our men carried, a true gentleman with a kind heart and generous spirit. Many of you shared his love of golf during our past four tournaments, his poetry, his friendship, or just a chat over coffee or chocolate. ... We will be planting a tree at Lakeside Park beside our Father's tree and Neil's pavilion and will have a new award starting at this year's golf tournament for 'Sportsmanship' as this was his true self. It is ironic that his golf team has repeatedly come in 2nd place! ...
Danny Peart was born in Port Dalhousie, Ontario and later settled in Vancouver with his wife Janette Lindley and their two sons, Max and Nick. He worked as a Globe and Mail paperboy, a Bartender, a farm equipment Parts Manager and a Personal Trainer, along with also being an accomplished writer and poet. He was a member of the League Of Canadian Poets, and published the following collections: Ruined By Love (21012), Stark Naked In A Laundromat (2016), with a foreword by Neil Peart, Another Mountain To Climb (2017), and - most recently - Not Quite So Handsome.
Danny was a guest on the Something For Nothing podcast back in 2023 and stated the following about his brother Neil (thanks Blabbermouth):
... The nice thing about it is that he will be remembered. He was the type of artist that was so singular and so talented and so hardworking. So he is gonna be remembered as one of the top 10 live drummers ever. They'll argue about his place, but you and I will be so happy we saw Neil Peart play live. We saw him solo, and we've never seen anything like that before. And so he'll be remembered, certainly, as a rock drummer. I hope he'll be remembered as a writer. Almost all of his books are still in print. And so I think he's got a legacy there, especially with 'Ghost Rider[: Travels On The Healing Road]'. I think that is a wonderful book to give somebody that needs healing after losing somebody. I think he'll be remembered, certainly, by his friends. And I think - I don't know; time will tell - but all of us, when we write, when you're a musician, all of us are trying to last. We'd like to be remembered that we did make a difference, that we showed up and gave it our best shot, and certainly Neil's... You can see - the legacy since people heard that Neil had died, his legacy has been so huge. We are all overwhelmed by how much people cared. ...
Anyone wanting to make a donation in Danny's name can do so at this location - simply choose Walker Family Cancer Centre from the menu. RIP Danny. You will be missed.
