Daniel R Strabone, 82, of Exeter, NH and formerly of Peabody, died unexpectedly early Saturday Morning, September 4, at the Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth, NH. He was the devoted husband of the late Louise J. (Lentz) Strabone and the late Maureen (O’Toole) Strabone.

Born in Boston, he was the son of the late Gaetano and Gelsomina (Mattei) Strabone. He was raised and educated in Cambridge until enlisting in the United States Navy in 1956. He served on the U.S.S. Willis A. Lee for over 3 years before his honorable discharge in March of 1960.

Daniel married his childhood sweetheart Louise in 1960 and moved to Peabody where he lived with Peabody pride for over 40 years. Daniel became a firefighter with the city of Peabody and proudly served for over 30 years first as a firefighter and then a fire prevention officer. He received his Associates Degree in Fire Science from North Shore Community College and retired as Captain.

Daniel was an avid sports fan and refereed hockey for many years and baseball for over 30 years. His first love was refereeing football which he did for over 51 years. He loved his crew and reffed at all levels from Pop Warner to college. He refereed his last game on August 28th. If you asked him, he would say the best games were those when he got to surprise his grandsons behind the plate or on the field.

Upon his retirement, he enjoyed wintering in Aruba for 15 years, and enjoyed playing Friday night poker with his Peabody friends and also at the casinos and card rooms. He moved to Exeter, NH in 2003 and enjoyed taking long walks on the beach. His favorite endeavor though, was spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren and sharing in all their activities. He will be dearly missed by all those who knew and loved him.

Daniel is survived by his son, Daniel and his wife Maryellen Strabone of Hampton Falls, NH, his two daughters, Lisa Marie and her husband Michael Lussier of Worcester, and Deborah Ann and her husband John Baglio of Peabody, his sisters, Rosalie Yenouskas of VA and Lorraine Krupkowski of Arlington, his brother in law George Lentz and his wife, Carole, of Andover, and his sister in law Janice Bergeron and her husband Richard of Salem, his beloved 7 grandchildren, Matthew Strabone and his fiancé Alyssa Stalzer of NYC, Michael Strabone of Boston, Noelle and her husband Michael Maffeo of Beverly, Jonathan Lussier of Worcester, and Lily, Lucas, and Brooke Baglio, all of Peabody, and by many beloved cousins, nieces, nephews, and dear friends. Besides his two wives, he was predeceased by his triplet sons, John, Matthew, and Luke Strabone in 1966 and by his brother James Strabone. Daniel’s funeral will be held on Monday at 10:00 AM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St, Peabody, followed by his Funeral Mass at 11:00 AM at St. John’s Church, Peabody to which relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Burial will be in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Peabody. Visiting hours will be held on Sunday from 2:00 until 6:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to the Peabody Firefighters Honor Guard Association, P.O. Box 763, Peabody, MA 01960.