Anne M Daly

Anne Madeleine Daly (née Barbazanges) was gathered into the arms of her Good Shepherd on May 9, 2026. He drew her to Himself in His grace, saved her, faithfully led her on her sojourn in this life, and after a glioblastoma brought her life on this earth to an end, finally brought her home to her eternal dwelling place with Him.

Her life began in 1966 in the shadow of the Pyrenees mountains when she was born to loving parents—Joël and Isabelle Barbazanges who preceded her in death. Growing up with a vibrant and loving family life, she developed deep, loving relationships with her parents and siblings—Thierry, François, Paul, Martin, and Véronique Barbazanges, who survive her and who let neither distance nor the Atlantic ocean keep them from tenderly loving, supporting, and encouraging her, especially through her agonizing battle with brain cancer.

Setting off at 18 years of age to the rolling pastoral Oise Valley in the Picardy Plateau of France to serve in a community setting for adults with disabilities, she was the first to welcome a blue-eyed American arrival to the community in the summer in 1985. Excelling already in receiving, welcoming, and taking care of others, she became the loving wife of her blue-eyed American—Edward Daly (who survives her)—in 1986 when she said, “Oui!” at 19 years of age on the small island of Yeu off the western coast of France. Anne followed her husband across the Western sea to a new continent where she would migrate westward with him and eventually her children until her life came to an end on the Great Plains of Nebraska.

Bearing and nurturing the four beautiful children who survive her—Chloé Leighty, Madeline Daly, Alexandre Daly (married to Chelsey Daly), and Bérénice Daly—was one of the greatest joys in her life. When her children were raised, she took care of her elderly mother-in-law Mary Daly for the last nine years of Mary’s life. At the core of Anne’s life was an impulse to serve and nurture others. Only physical and eventual mental incapacity could stop her from acting on that impulse.

To know Anne personally was to be immediately struck with her dynamic and charismatic pursuit of a simple, quiet life. The trajectory of her life seasoned her with a unique spirit indelibly marked by her French origins in her direct manner of speech; sense of humor; strong, independent spirit; love of others and of beauty; and relationships. Her family and others knew her as the “spunky little brunette” with a scintillating personality who knew her mind and was always ready to serve.

Anyone who knew Anne well knew that she hated the spotlight and how uncomfortable she was as the object of a group’s attention. She always preferred to stay in the background where she could quietly serve by taking care of others. Were she here today, she would redirect every word of praise toward her Savior. She would want the attention to point to the Great Shepherd in whose arms she rests right now and forever more.

Fittingly, the verses Anne anchored herself to through cancer were Psalm 19. Why? Because “it’s all about God,” she said. Through it all, Psalm 19 caused her to meditate more deeply than ever before on God’s glory, sovereignty, and grace so visible in His creation and the transforming power of His Word in rescuing the lost. To the end, Anne clung to the final declaration of the psalm, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). She lived in that spirit of humble submission to the Lord in the deepest of trials in her life.

In the throes of cancer—the suffering of chemotherapy and radiation broken only by brief intervals of relief—she said, “The hard days make God’s word sing.” Anne never prayed for healing, knowing that her days were counted by the Lord in the first place and that we live for the Lord and we die for the Lord. She always prayed for steadfastness—and asked others to pray the same for her. As difficult as it was on some days, she found reason to rejoice in each day as a day the Lord had made and longed for others to know that peace without needing a terminal disease to find it.

Anne grieved, to be sure, the eventual loss of her loved ones she was leaving behind. Having lived as an alien in her adopted country for most of her life, however, she came to a settled peace with something deeper: her sojournings in this life were preparation. By God’s grace, she was always headed toward the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

If you want to honor Anne, honor the Lord—for her worth was far above jewels, and it is her works that now praise her in the gates, because she first and foremost feared the Lord. That is what would make her rejoice today if she were with us because she wanted you to know the Lord

Visitation will be held from 9am to 10am on May 19, 2026 with a Funeral Service starting at 10am at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home, 6800 South 14th Street, Lincoln, NE. Funeral Service will be livestream. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Horisun Hospice in Lincoln.