Wilbur E.(Bill) Daly

Bill was born in Detroit, Michigan on August 18, 1922. He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Mary E. Daly, his son, Robert C. Daly (Brenda) and his daughter, Mary Ann Daly. He is also survived by a brother-in-law, several sisters-in-law, and multiple nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his parents, Robert Olan Daly Sr. and Molly Reddy Daly and his brother, Robert Olan (Bob) Daly, Jr.

Bill accepted Christ as his personal Savior during a tent revival in South Georgia in 1931. Bill was active in the Boy Scouts and became an Eagle Scout in 1938. He later served as a Scoutmaster before and after his time in the service.

In October 1942, Bill enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was a World War II Veteran of the 33rd Fighter Group and served with the Flying Tigers during the China-Burma-India Theater as a flight engineer on the B-25 Mitchell. Bill received an honorable discharge in March 1946 at the rank of Sergeant.

He served as a Sunday School teacher of middle school boys at Terry Parker Baptist Church (1960-1970) and later as a deacon at First Baptist Church of Jacksonville in the 1980’s.

His career was predominately in sales. Some of the companies he worked for were J.C. Penney and

H & WB Drew Company. In 1994 he retired from United Business Systems where he excelled in sales of medical record systems.

When he retired, Bill volunteered at Catholic Charities and at ElderSource with the SHINE program. He enjoyed working with wood and stained glass. He especially enjoyed making bird houses. Some of his bird houses won awards which were auctioned off to support non-profits like HabiJax. He also enjoyed working in his yard. He loved tending to the birds that visited his well-stocked feeders and lived in his “rent-free” birdhouses.

Graveside services will be held at Jacksonville National Cemetery (Lane 1) on April 29, 2024 at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Hearing Health Foundation, P.O. Box 1397, New York, New York 10018 or ElderSource, 10688 Old St. Augustine Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32257.