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James A. Daley, 102

| March 24, 2020 1:00 AM

James A. Daley passed away March 20, 2020, after a brief stay at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

He was born on the family homestead near Simms, Montana, on Feb. 10, 1918, the second son of Carl Alfred Daley and Benora Vigen Daley.

His dad gave up his homestead and moved the family to Whitefish when Jim was in the second grade. He attended various schools in the Flathead Valley, graduating from Flathead High School in 1936.

After graduation he worked in the woods near Half Moon and stayed in the logging camps. During this time he met and married his sweetheart Doris Monk in 1940. Daughter Joanne was born in 1942 and Sandra arrived in 1946.

World War II started and Jim worked on the West Coast building troop ships and a housing project on an Army base. July of 1945, Jim received his draft notice and joined the Navy. He served in the Marshall Islands until May of 1946.

After his return from the Navy, Jim began building houses. In 1948 he bought a farm near Somers and continued his carpentry work, working on Hungry Horse Dam and the building of the aluminum plant in Columbia Falls, all the while keeping up with his farming and cattle raising. His final building project was a house near Lakeside for his retirement home.

In his later years he and Doris started a scholarship fund for high school seniors in Kalispell. A few years later he was able to gift a $1 million stock account to Flathead Valley Community College, also to be used for scholarships.

He is survived by his daughters, Joanne Klymyshyn and Sandra (Bob) Colbrunn; grandchildren, Nick Klymyshyn and Katherine Fetters; nine great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Also, his sister Betty Lou Neal survives and his good friend and caregiver Del Phillips.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Doris Monk Daley; grandson Daniel Jay Fredenberg; his parents; four brothers and one sister.

At Jim’s request cremation has taken place and a memorial gathering will be held at a later date.