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Daniel Franklin Pauiln, 74, of Santa Barbara, CA, unexpectedly passed away on September 14th, 2022.“Danny Boy” was born on September 12, 1948 at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital to David William Paulin and Dorothy Franklin Paulin. His father, a renowned CHP officer on the south coast, was involved in the development of the State Motor Officer (Motorcycle) program and started (and trained) the City of Santa Barbara Police Department program. There are many amazing heroic stories about his father’s contribution to our community. His loving mother, a nurse at Cottage Hospital was a direct descendent of George Mason, whose concept of inalienable rights influenced the writing found in the Declaration of Independence.Danny grew up in his childhood home on the Westside where he graduated from Harding Elementary, La Cumbre Junior High and Santa Barbara High before going on to earn a degree from Santa Barbara City College where he played an important role in the Football Team’s success. After SBCC he was recruited to play for the University of New Mexico. Many years after Danny graduated from SBCC, his Coach said that Danny was “the most talented punter/kicker to ever play for the team.”As a young boy, Danny was involved with every kid’s activity available! Among his favorites were Camp Lorr, Young Life and, of course, surfing! On any given sunny summer day, Danny could be found surfing his custom Yater down at Hendry’s Beach!As a young man, Danny worked a number of jobs, eventually landing in Ketchum, ID where he worked as a waiter (at the Charthouse) by night and a ski instructor by day. Following in his parents’ public service footsteps, he eventually went to work for the US Forest Service and ultimately landed his dream job as a Firefighter for the Santa Barbara City Fire Department. A retired Fire Chief recently said: “I remember when we hired Danny…. a nicer guy you could not find.” On the evening of July 26, 1977 (his first year on the job), a man accidentally got his kite tangled up in power lines near the border of Santa Barbara and Montecito. This unfortunate event would cause one of the worst fire conflagrations in Santa Barbara history. It was a hot day; there were high winds and we were in the middle of a drought… all ingredients for the perfect fire storm. Danny found himself and his crew in the middle of this maelstrom known as the “Sycamore Fire” later that evening. His crew would become the first in the nation to deploy (and be saved by) fire shelters on that fire. As one of his colleagues described, “We were driving through hell as everything was on fire… cars, trees, buildings. Then we heard the call from Eng 2 saying ‘we are in our shelter at such and such location.’ As we were near, we moved to the location and started spraying a pre-connect (hose line) their way. A short time later they came through ungodly smoke, fire and heat. Their Engine had lost power and their hose bed burned so they were on their own.” Danny went on to work another 31 meritorious years before retiring as an Engineer.Danny’s retirement years have been filled with mountain biking, surfing and camping adventures all over the western US… Although he enjoyed these activities, what he really loved was the people he spent time with. Danny spent his life investing in friendships! In fact, you might say that is what Danny is best known for: A guy with a huge heart who loved people… All people. Like most of us getting up there in years, Danny had his share of challenges… But he never lost sight of what really mattered: his relationship with Jesus and his love for people. His absence leaves a massive hole in the hearts of people around the world. But the hope of those who follow Jesus is that we will be together again soon!Goodbye for now Danny Boy. We love you.Danny is survived by his sister Roberta Myers, her 2 children (Mike & Nancy) & their families, as well as William “Billy” Paulin, his 2 children (Paige & Lynnae) & their families.A memorial service will be held at 11AM on Saturday, October 29th, 2022.Location: 736 West Islay Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101More information and an RSVP (requested by family) can be found at the following website: https://everloved.com/life-of/danny-paulin/
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