EJ how glad I was to have four girls and not four rambunctious boys. Throughout our lives we enjoyed playing golf, hunting and just shooting the breeze. And even though our careers took us into two different directions, Owen the banker and I the surgeon, we knew each other inside and out. I could always tell what he was thinking with those pale blue expressive eyes that many a time twinkled with laughter and mischief and at other times would easily fill up with tears. One last notable adventure, which also showed my trust in the guy, was when we were at a bash at the Greenspring Valley Hunt Club. It was years ago, before we were married but after the war. Both of us had a little too much of the “bubbly.” We were trying to decide how we were going to get home and who was going to drive. It was determined that he would lead in his car and I would follow in mine. It was a rainy, foggy evening. As I reluctantly followed his tail lights, the road became increasingly more bumpy. We finally stopped and got out of our cars only to find that we were in the middle of a cornfield. Now isn’t that blind faith or what! In the last year or so of his life, it was difficult for O to get around and even get out of the apartment. Owen was a doer. He loved gardening and the outdoors. He loved to hunt and play with his dog, Kiwi. He was generous to his family, his church, and to his schools Gilman and Princeton as well as to St. Mary’s Seminary. He was a pillar in the banking community. He was a truly remarkable man and I am very proud to have been his best friend.
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gilman bulletin
Owen Daly II ’43 died Thursday, March 22, 2012, of heart failure. He was 87. One of Gilman’s finest all-around athletes, Daly was the recipient of the 1943 William Cabell Bruce, Jr. Award. Owen learned perseverance from his teachers, a trait that would carry him through wartime naval service twice, Princeton University, and a successful career in banking and finance, serving as president then chairman of Equitable Trust and Equitable Bank Corporation from 1967 to 1982. He was one of Gilman’s most staunch advocates, supporting the School financially since Ludlow Baldwin created the annual giving program nearly 50 years ago, and he generously contributed to capital campaign efforts. Most recently, he and his son Clinton R. Daly ’74 created the Owen and Clinton Daly Faculty Development Fund to give members of the Gilman faculty and administration the opportunity to broaden their professional growth through travel or continuing education. A trustee since 1952, Owen served as Board president from 1969–1975, during which time Gilman launched and concluded its first major capital campaign ($6 million); he became an honorary (emeritus) member in 1985. In 2008, the Alumni Association presented him with the Dawson Farber, Jr. Alumni Award, named for Owen’s great friend and fellow trustee emeritus, in recognition of his abundance of service to Gilman over an extended period of time through volunteer leadership, advocacy and financial support. He is survived by his wife, Marian Riggs Balliere, his sons, Owen Daly III ’70, Gordon Ballière, Clinton Riggs ’74, Thomas O’Donnell, 11 grandchildren, including Gilman alumni Benjamin W. ’08 and Nicholas R. ’08 and faculty member Owen Daly IV, and four great-grandchildren.