Virginia Margaret Daly, 101

Virginia Margaret Daly, age 101, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, died June 18, 2019, at the North Idaho Hospice Schneidmiller House in Coeur d’Alene.

Virginia and her twin brother, Virgil, were born April 2, 1918, in Latah County, Idaho, to Jess and Vesta (Merryman) Berry. They were the youngest of four children. Virginia stayed close to her older sister, Zelva (Berry) Brockham and her older brother, Archie Berry of Palouse, Wash. She attended school in Palouse, and graduated high school there in 1935. She then attended Washington State University and Eastern Washington University, graduating with a degree in Education.

Her first teaching job was at a one-room, two-teacher school in Viola, Idaho, which was east of their home ranch where her brother, Virgil, was farming. Her next teaching jobs were in Naches and Tacoma, Washington.

In 1942, she went to work for the U.S.O. as a travelers’ aid in San Francisco, where she assisted World War II military families on the move. She married Jim Daly on Jan. 21, 1946, when he was discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps. They moved to Coeur d’Alene, (Jim’s hometown) where he went to work for the Veterans Administration. The couple had three children: Kathy, Mike and Jo.

When her children were school age, Virginia returned to teaching. She taught at the Hayden Lake School and then at Central School, in Coeur d’Alene. In 1962, when the VA office closed in Coeur d’Alene, they transferred to Boise, Idaho, where she taught from 1962 to 1973. he retired after 30 years of teaching when Jim transferred to Seattle. After Jim retired in 1992, they moved back to Hayden Lake. Her husband Jim preceded her in death on Nov. 23, 2010.

Virginia was blessed with three children: Kathy (Mike) Reed, Mike (Lucinda) Daly and Jo Smith: five grandchildren: Brenda, Carrie, Cynthia, Simon and Rebecca; and six great grandchildren: Alex, Kelsey, Emma, Parker, Kai and Holden.

The family wishes to thank North Star Retirement Community and Hospice of North Idaho for their exceptionally loving care of Virginia.

A private graveside service will be held at St. Thomas Catholic Cemetery, in Coeur d’Alene. English Funeral Chapel, Coeur d’Alene, has been entrusted with Virginia’s arrangement and care. Please sign Virginia’s guest registry and view her online memorial at www.englishfuneralchapel.com.