Truth About Fred VanVleet Parents- Susan VanVleet, Joe Danforth

Joe Danforth is Fred VanVleet’s stepfather; he is a former US army personnel, Rockford City Police Department veteran, and founder of Rockford Five-o
His mother Susan VanVleet was the fiancee of Fred Manning, a Rockford’s Guilford High basketball forward, killed in 1999
Joe and Susan have been living together since 2003 after meeting at a Gym in 2001

Fred VanVleet’s parents, Susan VanVleet and Joseph ‘Joe’ Danforth formed a formidable and cohesive unit to raise their five children in a city ridden with crimes- from gun and street violence to drug peddling. They are in the limelight due to Fred’s career as a successful basketball player coming out of Rockford, Illinois.

Besides, Joe was a Rockford City police veteran and founder and coach of Rockford Five-o, a basketball training program in Rockford. Since it was founded, the program has provided athletic scholarships to more than 300 children. Susan on the other hand works hand in hand with him to provide support and stability.

Here is everything you need to know about them.

Table of Contents

Meet Fred VanVleet’s Parents

Before delving into the personal lives of Fred’s parents, it is pertinent to note that Joe Danforth is not the point guard’s biological father. His biological father is Fred Manning, a 6’8″ forward at Rockford’s Guilford High, who was killed in April 1999 in an alleged case of drug dealing.

In 2001, Joe crossed paths with Fred’s mother in a gym when the point guard and his older brother Darnell VanVleet were in the Fightin’ Titan Boys Basketball Camp at Boylan High. Months later, the pair started dating, and by 2003, Susan and her two boys moved in with Danforth who also has two boys, J.D and Tre.

Besides, the four boys from their relationships, the two share a daughter, Asja.

Joe Danforth

Joseph ‘Joe’ Danforth was born to a single mother in Rockford, Illinois, and grew up on the west side of the city.

While growing up, he saw first-hand the effects of gang activity and violence in his neighborhood. Later on, he spent six years in the United States Army where he was part of the army’s boxing team that represented Fort Hood Worldbeaters in the 1990s.

Subsequently, he joined the Rockford Police Department where he served for more than two decades and rose to the rank of detective in 2015. His passion for joining his city’s police unit was born from his admiration for the job after watching a few movies that involve policing. He said he was motivated after seeing black officers on those shows.

While working as a police officer, he came face-to-face with the ugly details and the level of crime in his community and was willing to do more to change the story. So, he started Rockford Five-o, a basketball training program in 2005. He took the step to begin the initiative after realizing basketball keeps his son off gang activity and thought he could extend it to other kids as well.

The program had financial challenges in the initial stages because there weren’t enough funds to cover team expenses. But the situation of things changed as time passes.

As captured, the program aided more than 300 kids, and out of this number, some earned scholarships for their athletic performances. His stepson Fred, one of the well-known products of the program currently plays for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association.

In 2015, Joe was among several Rockford officers recognized for their efforts in the community. He received a service medal for volunteering as a youth basketball coach and also liaising with his players’ parents and teachers to encourage them to further their education.

Susan VanVleet

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Even though there isn’t much about the personal details of Fred VanVleet’s mother in the public domain, her parent’s house was located north of Rockford in Machesney Park. She lived there with her sons, Darnell, and Fred, before moving in with her current husband in 2003 four years after her fiance, Fred Manning was killed as indicated

After receiving the news of Manning’s death, she called Darnell and Fred, who were seven and five years old at the time, respectively, and told them their father is dead. The Toronto Raptors point guard was too young to understand what had happened to his father, and as he grew, she told him parts of the story. What she told him turned the basketball star into “a kid who was angry at the world” she said.

She had help in raising him and his older brother. Danforth ensured he kept the boys under strict check and discipline, so they didn’t get consumed by the crime and gang life in Rockford.

Since Rockford Five-o started operating in 2005, Susan VanVleet has been committed to the program by providing support to her husband, and he is appreciative of her efforts.