Gone, But Never Forgotten
When Margaret and Jim Altman of Altamonte Springs chose to send their son Danny to The Roth Family JCC and the Hebrew Day School (now known as the Jewish Academy of Orlando), they had no idea that Danny’s connection with the school would spawn a lasting legacy, one that is now intended to live on in perpetuity.
Danny Altman passed away in his sleep last March at age 25 from diabetic ketoacidosis. No one knew Danny had diabetes. In some cases, diabetic ketoacidosis develops as the first – and fatal – symptom.
“It was extremely shocking and sudden,” says Jacob Suberman, one of Danny’s classmates and basketball teammates at the JCC. “The idea of his memory fading away is not an option.”
To keep his friend’s legacy top-of-mind, Jacob and six other young men who grew up with Danny – Ryan Daly, Eric Finkelstein, Jesse Lerner, Charles Render, Max Shatkhin, and Jacob Wladis – have established the Danny Altman Maccabi Scholarship Endowment Fund. The goal is to raise $50,000, and the endowment is designed to help athletes with financial needs attend the summer JCC Maccabi Games that are played in host cities throughout the United States.
Jacob says it was basketball, especially as part of the JCC Maccabi Games, that cemented and solidified his friendship with Danny. The JCC Maccabi Games are the world’s largest sports competition open to Jewish teens, ages 13 to 16.
“We are still as close as can be,” Jacob says of his old JCC teammates. “That’s why we created the endowment. We want to pass along what we have to the next generation so they can create the same lifelong bonds we cherish.”
“I feel gratitude about the scholarship,” says Danny’s mom, Margaret. “What the Maccabi Games did for these kids is very important and very special to them. They met at the JCC and played youth basketball throughout the year, continuing in the adult league as they grew up. I really enjoyed that time. It was real and wholesome. And it was part of who Danny was, part of his identity.”
Danny was eventually selected to play for Team USA at the International Maccabi Games in Australia. And while he was certainly proud of that accomplishment, his mom says Danny was the type of person who really wanted to see others succeed.
Building a Lasting Memory
Married in 1981, Jim and Margaret moved to the Orlando area from New York City 10 years later. On June 26, 1993, Danny entered the world and was brought home the next day as the couple’s adopted son. Four years later, they welcomed a second son, Evan.
“Danny was an incredible amount of fun,” Margaret says with a reminiscing smile. “He was friendly and kind. Always up for anything. He was generous, outgoing, and fun-loving.”
While Danny grew up as a formidable basketball player, he also possessed a wide-ranging skill set. He was a camp counselor, a lifeguard, and a snowboard instructor out west. He was also a musician, one who wrote music, played the guitar, sang, and loved to perform on stage. He majored in criminology at FSU and joined a fraternity. Most importantly, Danny was a friend’s friend.
Danny’s oldest friend, Max, admired how comfortable Danny made people feel in his presence.
“It was so easy for him to make people feel better about themselves,” Max recalls. “He got joy out of making his friends feel better.”
Although Max and Danny both attended Hebrew Day School and the JCC together, their paths took them to different high schools, colleges, and careers. Nonetheless, the two remained close and spoke often about life.
Of the eight close friends from those days at the JCC, only Jacob and Eric remain in the Orlando area. The rest of the old gang has relocated, one to North Carolina, and four to New York City, including Max. But in true friendship fashion, the boys return each year for High Holy Days and Thanksgiving, and they play a little basketball, just like old times.
Except now, they play one man down.