Gerald “Dee” Darden passed away at 2pm, Aug.24, 2011 at the age of 82. Born in Cumberland County, N.C., he was the son of Benjamin Aaron Darden and Beulah Boynton Darden. Dee was a Vietnam veteran and served in the Air Force for 26 years.
He caddied on the LPGA tour for Beth Daniel and Nancy Lopez. Dee became the second caddie inducted into the 2001 Professional Caddies Association Hall of Fame class. Dee was co-author of “Inside the Ropes,” a pictorial view of life on tour. Dee touched the lives of many and will be missed by all who knew him.
He is survived by his wife, Jeannie Darden; his son, Curtis Christopher Darden, of Los Angeles; daughters, Jessy and Marla Darden, both of Tucson, Ariz., and Jody Allen and husband Daniel of Raleigh, N.C.; and grandchildren, Spencer and Jessy Allen.
A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011, in St. Andrews United Methodist Church cemetery, with full military honors. The family will receive friends Wednesday from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Rogers and Breece Funeral Home, located at 500 Ramsey St. in Fayetteville.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to PCA Foundation/The Dee Darden Scholarship Fund, 23 Malacompra Road, Palm Coast, FL 32137, 386-446-8721, PCAworldwide.com. or online at Dee’s badge at www.TheCaddieAssociation.com
“Dee” Darden was a caddie on the LPGA Tour for 15 years. He looped for the best. Nancy Lopez had him on her bag for the best years of her career. Debbie Steinbach Keller, Beth Daniel and Patty Sheehan were among those he worked for. He was known and loved by the entire tour and everyone who knew him.
Dee was the second caddie inducted to the PCA Caddie Hall of Fame in 2001, an elite and dedicated group of men and women lead by founder/president, Dennis Cone. www.PCAhq.com
He is credited for creating some of the first yardage books for the tour by literally walking and measuring each hole before a match and then selling the yardage books for a dollar to the competition, compliments of the nearest Xerox machine.
In 1994 he published “Inside The Ropes” a photographic essay of life on the LPGA Tour which featured photos that only he could have taken reflecting his unique relationship with the players and caddies. He was an active photographic contributor to CBS, Golf World Magazine and the LPGA for many years.
He was a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force flying B-52’s complete with A-Bombs on Christmas eve over the North Pole, to commanding the F-4 photo-recon Phantom in Vietnam. When traveling to an LPGA event from Arizona, he accidentally stumbled upon the largest aircraft gravesite in the world and remarkably found the F-4 Phantom he flew in Vietnam with his name displayed on the jets port side.
His life always included golf and at one point in his young life he considered turning pro. On his way home after release from the military he stopped at an LPGA event, and as he put it, “fell in love with 160 women.” He became a caddie at that moment. His instinctive knowledge of the game made him a great asset to any player he looped for. The players also fell in love with him, including his wife and fellow caddie, Jeannie.
” Dee will be deeply missed and love to help everybody in need. ” stated Laura Cone, co/founder of the HOF. The PCA Caddie Foundation has started The Dee Darden Scholarship Fund with the PCA at the PGA of America Credit Union. For more information contact Laura at PCAF@PCAFhq.org if you want to help the mission.
Nancy Lopez wrote a poem when Dee retired from, which I paraphrase, that sums up the man and my dear friend…
“It saddens me to see you depart
But Dee I’ll always hold you close to my heart
I’ll always remember that friendly smile
You made the word caddy stand for style”
more about DEE SEE > http://articles.latimes.com/1989-09-24/sports/sp-599_1_dee-darden
Contact:
PCA Medai and Travel,
Dennis Cone
Dennis@PCAhq.com
386-446-8721 USA
