Danilo Konvalinka, formerly of 16-18 High Street, Wiscasset, died peacefully at Coves Edge Long Term Care in Damariscotta on June 18, 2015. He was 84 years old.

Born on Sept. 23, 1931 in Celte, Yugoslavia, he was the only child of Anton Konvalinka, who was born in Vienna in 1900 and Christa Hildegard Lang, who was born in Gmunden, Austria, in 1887. The family moved from Yugoslavia to upper Austria around 1935 and later to the outskirts of Salzburg around 1940. The family name, Konvalinka, is of Czechoslovakian origin and translated into English means “Lily of the Valley.”

In 1954, Danilo met Lois Ernest of Washington, D.C., in the Salzburg Castle while she was vacationing in Europe. Lois was employed by the U.S. State Department. The next year she returned to Salzburg where she and Danilo were married. The family then moved to Maryland, and Danilo and his father, with Lois’ help, opened a clock and music box repair shop in Kensington. They started collecting antique music boxes and later expanded to all sorts of mechanical musical instruments.

In 1960, L. Douglas Henderson joined the family and brought his passion and vast knowledge of player pianos and phonographs. He had been collecting in California since he was a child.

In 1962, while vacationing on the coast of Maine, the family discovered the Chase house in Wiscasset was for sale. The 1852 sea captain’s home on High Street was purchased and in 1963 The Musical Wonder House was created. This beautiful house with 32 rooms was home for the family as well as a their world famous collection of antique music boxes, player pianos, cylinder and disc phonographs, crank organs, automatons and mechanical singing bird cages. All displayed in an elegant setting filled with antiques and art. Thousands of guests enjoyed guided tours of the museum collection.

Danilo and Lois Konvalinka and Douglas Henderson combined their collections, talents, charm and resources in creating an unforgettable collection. The museum was a destination for music lovers every summer for decades. The family also created shops called The Merry Music Box in Boothbay Harbor, Dallas, Galveston, Lexington, Massachusetts, and Freeport.

Danilo was predeceased by Lois who died in Wiscasset in 2013, his father, Anton, in 1986, and his mother Christa in 1967.

Music was always a part of his life though Danilo did not play a musical instrument. His grandfather, Ferdinand Lang, was born in 1858 in Vienna and was the official court composer to the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Emperor of Austria. It was the assassination of the Archduke in Serbia that precipitated World War I. His aunts Auguste Margelik and Therese Maetz were both concert pianists in Austria.

Danilo is survived by many friends. His home for the past several years has been Cove’s Edge. He received excellent care while he was there. It was very clear at the end of his life that he was loved and appreciated.

A graveside gathering of friends will be held at a later date.