Bill Daley

1936 - 2012

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. - Bill Daley passed away Monday morning, June 18, 2012. He died as he lived, decently and peacefully, surrounded by the family he so loved which so loved him in return.

Bill was born Aug. 15, 1936, in Concord, to John and Helen Daley. He earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, his master's degree in business administration from Rutgers University. He spent most of his career with AT&T before moving on to self-employment as a college financial aid counselor (as the father of six he had learned a thing or two about how to work the system).

Along the way he was an active member and president of the Kiwanis Club and served as president of the school board in Sparta, N.J. He was an avid promoter of and fundraiser for a wide range of causes: a rooster among the boosters for the Sparta High School athletics program and a tireless promoter of health causes, including work with the Cancer Society. In his later years, he helped coordinate alumni activities on behalf of his Bowdoin College graduating class of 1958, and Concord High School, 1954. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for community service by the Sussex County Honorees in 1987.

All of these things mattered to Bill. But nothing mattered more to him than his family. He relentlessly courted the love of his life, Diane Dearborn, ultimately succeeding with their marriage in 1961. Never great fans of communist China's one child policy, they pursued a mission to repopulate the earth, raising six children – John, Patti, Joe, Danny, Steven, and Will – whom have (thus far) provided 14 grandchildren – Connor, Nicholas, Evan, Nina, Madeline, Sophie, Bill, Henry, Stella, David, Meghan, Shannon, Rebecca and, of late, Nate (the great). Yet, they lost and never forgot their very first child, Deborah, stillborn in 1962.

Of all that Bill gave his community and his family, the best of all that he gave was his own hysterical self. He loved lemon cookies, and Fig Newtons. He loved the tomato in both of its accepted preparations: sliced with pepper, and whipped into ketchup (Heinz, never any other). Oh, and he loved most of all anything that Diane made, particularly the pies, and especially blueberry, deluded into thinking they contained no sugar or, worst of all, gad-blessed butter.

Of all Bill did, what matters most is the example he provided. An example to be kinder, gentler and better people; an example not so very far from the example of Christ, whose table he's sitting at now, with his dad and mom, with his daughter Deborah, no doubt enjoying the full bottles of Heinz, the sliced tomatoes, the butter-free bread and the lemon cookies.

Relatives and friends are invited and may call Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Nunn & McGrath Funeral Directors, 470 French Road, Utica. Funeral services will be Saturday at 8:15 a.m. from the funeral home and 9:00 a.m. from Our Lady of the Rosary Church where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. Interment will be in Woodgate Cemetery, White Lake, New York.

Donations may be made, in lieu of flowers, to the Allison McCarney Fund. Donations may be made in person, or mailed to the funeral home, Nunn & McGrath Funeral Directors, 470 French Road, Utica, NY 13502.

Messages of sympathy at www.nunnandmcgrath.com.