Mary Klein Daly

Mary Daly was a modest woman, quiet and observant in her ways. She was trustworthy and traditional in her approach to her life and in her relationships. She was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew her. She was also a woman who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything she undertook. Realistic about life, she was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Her parents were Al and Ruth Klein, who raised Mary in Oak Park and Chicago, IL. She was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve her well throughout her life.

Mary was raised with two siblings, brothers, Bob and Rich. Mary was constantly involved in activities with her brothers. Mary and her siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Mary was always consistently loyal to her family.

While her teachers and even her friends generally thought of Mary as being a serious person, she managed to have a pretty good time in high school as she made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. She graduated from Oak Park High School in 1956. Her favorite class in high school was history which served her well as she sought to unravel the Klein/Daly family trees. Mary was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using her exceptional memory, she was able to learn much through observation. Mary always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though she could easily master any problem that might be presented to her.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Mary was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during her life. Since she disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw her own conclusions based on direct observation, Mary was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew her. She was committed to her friends and valued the trust she placed in them. It was not uncommon for Mary to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought her out for advice because she had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, one of her best friends was Yvonne Ryzner. Later in life, she had several great friends, and still remained close to Yvonne.

On April 30, 1960 Mary exchanged wedding vows with Frank "Bud" Daly at "St. Somewhere" (Bud can't remember, after all this was over 52 years ago). Compassionate and devoted to Bud, Mary held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. She took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it her total commitment. She was a source of strength to Bud and using her gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, she worked hard to make her new family happy.

Mary brought the same traditional values in her marriage to bear on how she raised her children. She was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in her dealings. She would always listen carefully and think things through before she acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Mary was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Mary and Bud were blessed with two children; one son, Tim and one daughter, Janet. They were also blessed with four grandchildren, Hannah, Kieran, Kyle, and Aidan.

Mary greatly enjoyed what she did for a living. She was a hard worker who expected the same in return from her co-workers. She was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Mary enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Mary was excellent at meeting deadlines. She was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. Her primary occupation was a development manager. She was employed for 12 years by Illinois Benedictine University and 7 years by St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital. Mary worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done even when it involved enlisting the entire family in her annual fund raising event/silent auction.

Mary liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into her hobbies, where she was very methodical in how she organized her activities and categorized things. Since she enjoyed her private time, Mary always tried to allocate a specific time for working on her hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were genealogy, travel, and reading. Mary was content to enjoy her hobbies alone but was also willing to share her interests with others.

Despite Bud's best intentions, Mary found no pleasure in sports. Tops on her list was Cubs baseball. Well, actually that was Bud's favorite, and it became a family joke just how much Mary did not like the Cubs games.

As a woman who always showed great commitment to the things she believed in, it’s little wonder that Mary was so active in her community. Being practical and mentally disciplined, Mary preferred to base her decisions on first-hand experiences. Mary was never afraid to roll up her sleeves and dig right in. Politically, Mary was Anti-Republican (if that's a party).

Mary was a woman who was dedicated and devoted to her faith. She was a member of Ss Peter and Paul Catholic Church for 16 years and St. Anne Catholic Church for 8 years. She was a sympathetic woman who valued her beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them.

Mary sought out practical solutions, not individual recognition. She was always grounded and objective, feeling a strong sense of responsibility for taking care of what needed to be done. This selfless attitude earned Mary many accolades for her efforts and achievements. Some of her most prestigious awards included Wife of the Year, 1960 - Present; Mom of the Year 1963 - Present; and Grandma of the Year - 1999 - present.

Mary enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since she was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Mary appeared effortless. She enjoyed researching all of her examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where she traveled, Mary always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacations included Israel, Ireland and Orange Beach, Alabama.

Mary was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. One of Mary’s favorites was Tom the cat. They were best friends for 21 years. Tom however never warmed up to Bud although he left many surprises in his chair. Her pet family was rounded out by Buffy, a Golden Retriever and Jerry (Tim's) cat.

When Mary’s retirement finally arrived in 2003, she was well prepared. She always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things she knew, so she was very confident in planning her retirement. She had begun the process early and had her retirement all laid out well in advance. Her new life involved living in Oswego with Bud and being with her family poolside. In retirement, she found new pleasure in genealogy. Even in retirement, Mary continued to stay in touch with her old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. She was active in her new community and felt fulfilled.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Mary Daly. She was committed to living the life of a good woman who was both practical and trustworthy. She was committed to the traditional values that she upheld her entire life. She committed herself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around her. Most of all, she was committed to those she knew and loved.

Mary Daly, nee Klein, age 73, beloved wife for 52 years of Bud, devoted mother of Tim (Roisin) Daly and Janet (Kyle) Melancon; loving grandmother of Kieran and Aidan Daly and Hannah and Kyle Melancon; dear sister of Rich (Marilyn) Klein and Bob (Debbie) Klein. Visitation Thursday, March 15, 2012 from 3-8 pm at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 5015 Lincoln Ave., Lisle (on Rt. 53, ½ mile south of Ogden Ave. / Rt. 34) where funeral services will begin Friday, March 16, 2012 at10:15 am and proceed to Ss Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 26 N. Ellsworth, Naperville, Mass 11:00 am. Interment Ss Peter and Paul Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to CNS Hospice, 690 E. North Ave, #100, Carol Stream, IL 60188. For additonal information, call the funeral home at 630-964-9392.