Paul Daly

Paul L. Daly, 93, died of natural causes on Dec. 28, 2014, while returning home to Columbia Falls from his winter residence in Green Valley, Ariz.

He was born to Lawrence and Florence Daly on March 20, 1921, in Missoula. He lived and attended school in Missoula and spent summers in the Grasshopper Valley of Beaverhead County, on the Marchesseau family cattle ranch homesteaded by his mother’s parents.

Paul graduated from Missoula County High School just as Congress enacted the Civilian Pilot Training Act of 1939. He enrolled and received his early flight training from Johnson Flying Service at Hale Field in Missoula, while also pursuing a degree in wildlife technology at the University of Montana, then called Montana State University.

He enlisted in the Navy during World War II and was commissioned as an ensign in 1943, His initial assignment was Squadron VF-15 on the aircraft carrier USS Essex, preparing for combat with the new F6F Hellcat fighters.

In February 1944, Paul was assigned to Squadron VF-44 and the carrier USS Langley, from which he participated in numerous bomber support and strike missions during the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He was subsequently awarded the Air Medal “for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.”

Released from active duty in 1946, Paul chose to return to UM, earning a bachelor’s in business administration in 1947. He and his best friend started a business supplying records for jukeboxes in restaurants and bars in the Butte area.

In 1948, Paul was recalled to active service for the Korean War. He was a flight instructor for new aviation cadets in Pensacola, Fla. In 1953, he qualified in the UF-1 Albatross and was sent to Argentia, Newfoundland, where scouting and observation flights over the North Atlantic were conducted to detect any potential threat from the Soviet Union.  

In 1954, Paul returned to Missoula, where he and his wife Totsye raised their children, and Paul started a used furniture and upholstery business. Continuing his service in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Paul also branched out into civilian aviation, partnering with other local businessmen to establish Executive Aviation, a fixed-base operation (FBO) at the Missoula airport.

Following his divorce, Paul sold his share in Executive Air and moved to Spokane, where he established a new business at Spokane International Airport, eventually building it into one of the largest FBOs in the Inland Northwest.

He married Carol King in 1969 and purchased a small ranch near Whitefish, the first of several they would own. Selling both Executive Air and the Whitefish ranch several years later, they purchased a larger ranch in the Blackfoot Valley.

In 1981, Paul officially retired from the Navy. Two years later, he decided to retire completely, selling the Ovando ranch and moving to Bigfork, where he planned to play golf and learn to sail. Soon, however, he was approached about an opportunity to invest in a small Kalispell precision machining firm which had just received a large defense-related contract, which led to another decade of hard work. JBM Inc. became a prime contractor for Boeing and was named E-Systems’ 1985 Subcontractor of the Year.

Finally in 1992, real retirement became possible. Spending his winters in Arizona and summers in Montana, Paul was able to enjoy years of golf, fishing, dancing and the good company of friends (old and new) and relatives.  

Paul was preceded in death by his parents; his sister Bette Overby; and his daughters Joan and Janette Daly.

He is survived by his wife Carol; daughters Jennifer Lowe-Anker and husband Conrad, Paula Daly, and Camilla Haynes and husband Steve; brother Larry Daly and wife Fran; grandchildren Jake Daly, Max, Sam and Isaac Lowe-Anker, and Haley and Brady Haynes; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Cremation has taken place. A family celebration of Paul’s life will be held later this year in Polaris.