We are happy to announce the Find Your Small Things Charity Run in honor of Daniel Prial. The Warwick community and the world tragically lost one of the kindest and funniest souls this past winter. In his memory, we have created an event that invites any all to "find your small thing." That could be walking a 5k, running a 10k, or even running a marathon. All participating, are encouraged to finish their small thing at St. Stephen's Church where refreshments and a food truck will be available.
Donations are requested but not mandatory to participate. All funds raised will go to the Small Things Inc. non-profit, which seeks to help local business that have been impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic. The preferred method of donation is via Venmo to Thomas-Nafash but donations are also accepted directly through https://www.smallthingsinc.org/.
The run will take place on June 12th and will be at the church from 9:30am to 1:00pm so you can start and finish your run whenever is most convenient for you.
Danny loved the Warwick community and we believe this run can be an opportunity to spread the joy that Danny lived every single day of his life with. We look forward to sharing a great day with you!
More information will be coming out shortly so be sure to like and share the account to stay up to date and spread the word.
There are so many ways to describe Danny Prial, but the word that comes immediately to mind is joy. Danny embodied joy. And so much more but, today, words are hard to come by.
Please come back and visit this page in the coming days where we will provide updates, share photos, and just offer some love and prayers up to Danny and to the Prial family.
Godspeed Dan, you are so loved.
Danny Prial had a deep love for his hometown of Warwick and a passion for supporting local businesses. Danny was especially dedicated to these businesses throughout the COVID pandemic, recognizing their challenges and offering his encouragement and patronage.
The Prial family has chosen to honor Danny’s love for his hometown and devoted loyalty to family-owned businesses by accepting donations to the family’s charity of choice, Small Things Inc.
To make a donation in Danny’s memory,
please visit www.smallthingsincgives.org.
or click on the Small Things logo above.
In loving memory of Danny Prial, we will do small things with great love and strive to make a difference in our Warwick community.
First of all, thank you so much to everyone who reached out and supported my family and me during the past week. We have been overwhelmed (in a good way) by everyone's generosity and support. This post will contain information about how we will honor Danny over the next few days, so please read.
Because of COVID, space in the church is limited. Our family went through the unfortunate exercise of making a "guest list" and a seating chart for the indoor-church funeral. Please understand that if you are not on the in-church list, it is not a reflection of how Danny viewed his relationship with you. As we piece his life together, there is a 100% chance we miss people who had very strong relationships with Danny. We ask for your understanding.
Also because of COVID, there will be assigned seats in the church. Seating will be done in "pods" of people who are already close contacts with each other. We plead with everyone that you stay in your assigned seat. This will be the largest gathering in St Stephen's since the start of COVID, and will be looked at as something of a "trial run." If people are not respectful of the COVID-imposed rules, future families will end up suffering via a drastically lowered church capacity for events like this in the coming months. Also, please note that your seat within the church does not necessarily reflect your relationship with Danny. It is more likely a reflection of how we could fit as many people into the church as possible, while doing so safely. Everyone must be seated before 9:30am. Please leave ample time to park and walk into the church.
In addition to the service inside the church, there will be an option to live-stream the service on the internet (I will post a link when it is available). There is also "first come first served" seating in St Stephen's gym. Finally, audio will be broadcast outside the church. Our family completely understands and completely supports people who decide not to travel in the midst of the COVID pandemic. If you choose to honor Danny via the live-streaming option from your home or even on a cold golf course somewhere on Saturday morning, that would be great.
Danny's wake will be at St. Stephen's from 2pm-6pm on Friday, and the funeral will be at 10am.
Our family has no preference on military attire vs civilian attire. If you are/were in the military/FDNY/etc, wear whatever you prefer.
Again - thank you so much to everyone who has comforted us during this sad week.
Service information from Lazear Smith & VanderPlatt:
Visitation will take place on Friday, January 29, from 2 to 6 p.m. at St. Stephen the First Martyr Church, 75 Sanfordville Rd., Warwick, NY. Please use the main entrance to the church off Sanfordville Rd. Masks and social distancing are required. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the number of visitors will be limited at any given time throughout the afternoon. In order to accommodate all who would like to pay respects, the Prials ask that after prayers and condolences are offered, visitors move out of the church to allow others an opportunity to come inside.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, January 30 at 10 a.m., at St. Stephen’s Church. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, attendance in the church is by invitation only. The funeral Mass will also be livestreamed through the parish website at www.ststephenchurchwarwick.org. Audio from the funeral Mass will be broadcast outside the church for those who cannot be admitted inside but wish to be present. Those gathered outside are asked to socially distance, wear masks, and watch the Mass on muted personal devices.
On the evening of Wednesday, January 20, 2021, Warrant Officer 2 Daniel Gregory Prial of Warwick, NY died unexpectedly in a helicopter training mission accident at the age of 30. Danny was born on April 26th, 1990 on Long Island at South Nassau Communities Hospital to Anne and Gregory Prial. He attended St. Stephen’s School and Warwick Valley High School. Upon graduating high school, Danny attended the United States Military Academy at West Point from 2008 to 2012. He entered the 82nd Airborne Division as a helicopter pilot and was deployed to Afghanistan during 2014 and 2015. In 2020, he joined the New York National Guard. Danny is survived by his beloved dog Shea, his parents, his siblings Becky Fullam (Joe), Terence Prial (Abbie), Brigid Prial, and Jennie Prial, as well as his nephew and niece Sam and Ada Fullam.
Danny loved being raised in Warwick and this town was incredibly special to him. He was excited to move to Rochester because it was “only” a few hours’ drive from Warwick, rather than a day of travel. Being a part of the Warwick cross-country and track team in high school was a formative experience, and he often wore his purple Warwick singlet from high school underneath his Army uniform. He prefered the cross-country season to track because it was more team-oriented, a value that he brought with him to the Army.
Danny was a passionate fan of New York sports, and he rode the (few) highs and (more frequent) lows of being a Mets and Jets fan. The Army-Navy game was always the sports highlight of Dan’s year and he was overjoyed by Army’s four wins against Navy in the past few years. Sports was one of the ways he formed so many friendships. He likely had more friendships than we will ever know, because of his outgoing personality and desire to connect with people: neighbors in his apartment building, strangers at the airport, and anyone on the golf course.
The genuine joy Dan felt from making friendships and spending time with his close friends fed his commitment as a soldier. Dan cherished fellowship, in the form of sports, sharing beers, or enduring challenges with his fellow soldiers. He connected with others so easily because he found value in the commonality of being American, and his time off and civilian experiences reminded him of why he sacrificed so much to serve in the Army.
Wake and funeral details will be forthcoming.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Small Things Inc., a Warwick-based non-profit that shares kindness locally through community-supported giving. Donations can be sent to Small Things at 5 Linden Place, Warwick or online at https://www.smallthingsincgives.org/