Francis M. Daly, a former EMU professor of education,
died Oct. 30 at the Sunrise Senior Living Center in Ann
Arbor after a long illness. He was 85.
Daly was hired as a full-time professor of education at
EMU in 1964. He was appointed acting head of the department
in 1967. In 1968, he became assistant to the dean and,
a year later, became assistant dean in the COE. He retired
from EMU in 1987 and was inducted into the EMU College
of Education Hall of Fame in September 2009.
Daly enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1942. He was a
B24 radio operator and gunner, and flew 24 combat missions
in the Central Burma and India Burma campaigns. His plane
was shot down and he was held in a Japanese prison camp
in Rangoon, Burma, and was reported as killed in action.
Rescued when the allies retook Rangoon, Daly spent a year
in medical rehabilitation.
He received the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying
Cross, two Bronze Stars and other medals.
After his medical discharge, Daly received his bachelor's
and master's degree and doctorate, all from Wayne State
University.
He was a member of Phi Kappa Delta and the Southeast Michigan
Association of Schools and Colleges. He was a longtime
member of the Ann Arbor First Unitarian Universalist Church.
After he retired, Daly returned to his first interest,
art, and produced many landscapes and still-life pictures.
His pictures were exhibited in the Ann Arbor City Club
and the First Unitarian Universalist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Shirley; two sons, Steven
Daly of Piermont, N.H., and Brian Daly of New York City;
and three grandchildren.
A memorial service will take place at the Ann Arbor First
Unitarian Universalist Church Dec. 12, at 3 p.m. To sign
his guestbook or to leave a memory, visit his personal
page at www.niefuneralhomes.com
