Dannielle Spillman dressed like a rockstar, and acted like your best possible grandma. Her death at age 74, near the intersection of Mission and South Van Ness at the hands of a hit-and-run driver was a tragic one. Police arrested the driver, Valentino Cash Amil shortly after, and on Thursday, the District Attorney’s office announced it would charge him with muder.
But the six friends who spoke to Mission Local in the wake of Spillman’s death could only describe gratitude for having known her. She was kind, tall, sweet, generous, funny, bright, they said. She was elegant and deeply caring. She was present, calm and thoughtful.
She often wore black, and dressed in long trench coats and hats in the style of Mick Mars former lead guitarist for Mötley Crüe. Many saw her as a trans elder. She liked daily walks, thrift stores, Rainbow Grocery, bluegrass, ‘70s classic rock and singer songwriter music, hollowbody-type guitars, the Rolling Stones, Wilco, Jeff Tweedy and the Grateful Dead. She greatly enjoyed the recent Joe Satirani and Steve Vai concert at the Fox Theater. Recently, she’d taken up snacking on Japanese purple potatoes.
Spillman loved playing, buying, modifying and trading guitars. One of her regular hangouts was the Guitar Center, at 1645 Van Ness, between California and Sacramento. Connor McKeon, an employee, said that Spillman never showed up empty handed. She would bring sweets, cupcakes and most recently, she stopped by with strawberries…