In Memory of Roy Daily

With a good deal of sadness, I attempt to write about a dear family friend who has passed away at the age of 85. Roy Daily was like a third grandfather to me. A gentle, kind and generous soul of whom you cannot imagine anybody anywhere ever saying anything bad about.

Thankfully, I got to see Roy on the 4th of July while he was in the hospital. That Monday, he had been filling his car up with gas at an Arco station when he tripped and fell. This collapse to the pavement caused him to suffer a broken hip.

Upon seeing him in the hospital, I was amazed because I have never seen someone before in such good spirits while laid up in the plain, white-sheeted bed and sharing a room with a complete stranger. Roy still flashed his trademark smile and told his old school jokes and repeatedly laughed about what he called his "clumsiness" which apparently had caused several accidents over the years.

All seemed to be going well as the hospital was going to release Roy that 4th of July evening to return to his wife Phyllis and the home they built together 32 years ago on Lake Tapps. Roy did go home that evening, did some physical therapy and more than likely enjoyed the majestic display of fireworks that hurtled over the water late into the evening.

On Sunday morning- July 6th, Roy suffered a stroke and would not recover.

I have many memories of Roy during my life. Most of them revolve around visiting him and Phyllis on their waterfront property. Their old, wooden brown house was built in the 1970s and they were my parents landlords for awhile. The landlord (business) tag is probably the wrong way to put the relationship because it was less business and more Roy and Phyllis inviting my parents over for meals and card games. I would benefit later from this close friendship.

On many childhood occasions, Roy would take me out in their boat that must have been from the 1960s (the interior was never redone). He would show me the various mansions on the lake (one of which was the owner of Gordon trucking- this guy started with one truck and built a multi-million dollar business). He would also tell me about the deepest parts of the lake, hundreds and hundreds of feet down which fascinated me as a kid. There were also moments of attempted wakeboarding and much inter-tubing behind his boat. More than anything, I remember splashing around in the roped off swimming area right behind their home and doing cannonballs off their old wooden dock.

Card games (which mostly was hearts- and Roy was a particularly vicious player) and many games of pool filled many childhood Saturday evenings. Roy was a good pool player and taught me how to play and gave me many pointers.

When I left the hospital on Friday, I told Roy that I looked forward to playing pool with again in a couple months time when he had recovered from his hip surgery. He seemed excited by the idea. I regret that this game of pool will not take place.

...and, a good friend will be missed.