Father Jerome R. Daly, a decorated U.S. Army veteran and former pastor of St. John the Beloved Church in McLean and St. Michael Church in Annandale, died Jan. 14 at his home. He was 91.
After retirement from active priesthood in 2004, Father Daly lived at The Fairfax at Belvoir Woods, a retirement community for retired military and their spouses near Fort Belvoir. He offered informal pastoral counseling and celebrated Masses for the Catholic community there for 20 years.
A decorated Army veteran who served three tours of duty as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam before becoming a priest, Father Daly received the Silver Star and Bronze Star medals, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Purple Hearts, and the Distinguished Service Cross for rescuing three downed helicopter crews who were threatened by two Viet Cong battalions on Easter Sunday, 1967.
“He was a genuine hero and a man of deep faith,” said his close friend Msgr. John C. Cregan, now retired. He said he had been Father Daly’s roommate at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., “which started a friendship that has lasted through our whole priesthood.”
Msgr. Cregan said that with all of Father Daly’s accomplishments and military decorations, “he never flaunted it, he was very humble. Yet he was also very strong, and he always knew what he thought — he spoke truth with clarity, in a direct and very powerful way. He brought all those good qualities to the priesthood and it was good to share that journey with him.”
Over the last couple of years as Father Daly struggled with serious health problems, Msgr. Cregan said they spoke almost every day and visited about once a week.
“He was a great gift to our diocese and our church, and he will be missed,” Msgr. Cregan said. “He looked forward to being with the Lord, and I know he will be a great intercessor for us.”
Father Daly was born July 21, 1931, in Oakland, Calif., to John and Dorothy Daly. One of three brothers, he attended public schools in suburban Philadelphia and graduated from St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia in 1954.
He joined the Army in 1949 and reenlisted in 1958 after working as a volunteer firefighter, as a test pilot at Bell Helicopter, and pursuing a career in insurance. While in the Army, he held most ranks from private to lieutenant colonel, including warrant officer. For the last 22 years of his Army career, he worked in Army aviation.
After retiring from the Army in 1982, he entered Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, and was ordained a priest in 1987 by Arlington Bishop John R. Keating. He served as parochial vicar of St. Ambrose Church in Annandale, 1987-91, and St. Leo the Great in Fairfax, 1991-94. Father Daly served as pastor of St. John the Beloved 1994-2000, and St. Michael until his retirement in 2004.
Father Daly is survived by his nieces, Emily Mee (Daniel) and Morgan Zimmerer (Hans), his nephews John Daly (Terese) and Marcus Daly (Kelly) and 17 grandnieces and nephews.
Visitation will be Jan. 20, 3-8 p.m. at St. Raymond of Peñafort Church, 8750 Pohick Rd., Springfield, with a prayer vigil at 7:30 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered Jan. 21 at 11 a.m. at St. Raymond’s. A light reception will follow the 1 p.m. burial at Fairfax Memorial Park in Fairfax. Memorial gifts may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project.
