Angela Marie Dailey

December 17, 1950 – December 6, 2025

PITTSFORD, NY - Angela Dailey, a radiant presence of creativity, compassion, and quiet magic, passed away peacefully on December 6, 2025, at Keuka Care Comfort Home in Penn Yan, N.Y. She was 74 years old. She was known to friends and family as Angela DeSantis, Angela Krueger, and Angela Dailey at different times in her life.

A Memorial Mass to honor Angela's life and legacy will be held at 11a.m., January 2, 2026 at the All Seasons Chapel at White Haven Memorial Park, 210 Marsh Road, Pittsford, N.Y.

Born on December 17, 1950, to Anita and the Honorable John Thomas DeSantis, Angela grew up in Niagara Falls, N.Y. surrounded by a large, close-knit family. Angela lived her life with Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex (EBS), a skin fragility disorder which prohibited intense physical activity, and so at an early age Angela discovered literature and creative writing, a love she cultivated for the rest of her life. Angela attended St. Joseph's Elementary school and graduated from Madonna High School, places where her imagination, intellect, and natural curiosity bloomed. An excellent student and voracious reader, Angela graduated with several honors, including the prestigious American Academy of Achievement Scholarship.

Angela graduated from Syracuse University in 1972 with a degree in English Education (Phi Betta Kappa). During her time at SU, she met her first husband, William "Bill" Krueger. They married in July 1973 and settled in Geneva, N.Y. Even as their lives later moved in separate directions, they were forever connected by the exceptional children they raised - Mikal, Emily, and James.

A lifelong educator, Angela taught English for 30 years at Mynderse Academy in Seneca Falls, N.Y. Thousands of students passed through her doors, and every one of them left carrying a bit of her encouragement, insight, and belief in their potential. After leaving Mynderse, she spent the next 4 years guiding young adults as an instructor for the New Visions Medical Career Program and 6 years as an Adjunct Professor at William Smith College. Throughout her career, she continued her own academic pursuits. She was selected to attend the Ezra Pound Institute for Literature in Brunnenburg Italy as a Pound Scholar, studied Expatriate Literature at Charles University in Prague, completed course work at the Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking, studied American Literature and Creative Writing through the University of New Orleans and completed her Master's Degree in Creative Writing at Suny Brockport.

A prolific poet with a rich and vivid imagination, Angela spent her life exploring the landscapes of creativity, spirituality, and human connection. Over the years, her expertise and creative interest led her to many opportunities around the world: she was invited back to the International Ezra Pound Conference as a presenter, a participating poet in the International Women's Studies Institute in Athens, Greece, the Writer in Residence at the Vermont Studio Center, attended the AWP Summer institute in Prague, the Writing Fellow in Recoursos de Santa Fe and a multi-year recipient of the Finger Lakes Arts, Grants, and Services grant.

In 2000, Angela fused her love of writing and art into a unique workshop and gallery space called Inkblotz Studio and Gallery in downtown Geneva. For many years, Inkblotz hosted workshops on screenwriting, journaling, poetry, and creative writing. Angela worked to highlight local and regional artist with a space for showings and exhibitions. It was during one of those showings in 2004 that she met the artist who would become the love of her later life, Merlin Dailey.

Angela and Merlin married in a private ceremony in May 2011. The two traveled often and devoted themselves to spiritual and artistic work, co-authoring their book: "Each in Our Own Time: One Mans Spiritual Odyssey and the Teachings of Master Jeshua". They lived deeply and joyfully together until Merlin's passing in 2015.

Angela was a person of light, wonder, and profound gentleness. She moved through the world with an openness that made others feel both safe and seen, as though she noticed the hidden beauty most people rushed past. She maintained that grace and quiet radiance until her final breath. Angela loved coffee, poetry, gardening, reading and above all, her family. She had a gift for seeing the beauty in the day-to-day, turning ordinary moments into something meaningful and quietly extraordinary. Her absence leaves an immeasurable ache, but her presence will continue in the countless lives she touched, the art she inspired, and the love she cultivated.

Angela is survived by her siblings; Marcia (Thomas) Bellonte, Thomas (Kathy) DeSantis, and Michael (Lisa) DeSantis; her cousin Gretchen (Ralph) Lefler; her first husband William (Vickie) Krueger; her children Mikal Krueger, Emily (James) Giunta, and James (Caitlin) Krueger; her cherished grandchildren Conrad, Cullen, John Michael, Eleanor, Vivianne, and Sylvia; many beloved nieces and nephews; and the many students she taught throughout her life. She was predeceased by her parents, Anita DeSantis (née Scalzo) and the Honorable John Thomas DeSantis; her sister Dorothyanne DeSantis; and her second husband, Merlin C. Dailey.

Angela's family extends their heartfelt gratitude to the staff of the Wilmont Cancer Center, Glenmere Assisted Living Facility, and the Keuka Care Comfort Home for the dignity and tender care they offered during her final years.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Angela's honor to the Youth Scholarship Fund at Writers & Books (Rochester, NY), to the Adrenal Cure Collective fund, or to the EB Research Partnership fund.

To express condolences to the family, please visit www.devaneybennettfh.com