Michael (Mikey) Daly

Forever 28

With broken hearts, we reluctantly announce that our amazing and very much loved son, Mikey, passed away unexpectedly. His absence leaves an unfillable void and extreme heartache, and our family will never be the same. But we are so thankful for every second we were blessed to spend with him. And it was a privilege to be his parents.

This is very difficult to write because no parent should have to write their child’s obituary. It should always be the other way around. And it’s impossible to condense so many amazing memories and stories into a short bio…

Mikey and his twin sister Emily were born in Shawnee Mission, KS in 1995. He had a very happy and active childhood in a great neighborhood filled with good friends and relatives. And in a nice house filled with siblings that were also his best friends, and parents that adored him. And pets that he loved. Birthday parties with real ponies and Disney characters. Disney World vacations, family ski trips, family cruises, etc. And a lot of sports. Mikey loved sports and started playing at a very young age. He had many great coaches, including his dad who helped coach most of his teams until high school. He played soccer, basketball, baseball and flag football starting at age 4. In high school he played football and tennis. He started snow skiing at age 8 and loved it. He tried to go every season and Winter Park, CO was his favorite place. As an adult he got involved with pickle ball and played in a lot of tournaments. He recently won a citywide championship alongside his brother Patrick. Also as an adult he enjoyed long distance biking and hiking in the mountains in AZ and CO. He was a huge fan of the Chiefs, Royals, Sporting KC, and KU Basketball. Growing up he attended Bill Self’s basketball camps and was very excited to be chosen to be a ball boy at their home games. He once broke both of his wrists at the same time and was very proud to wear one red and one blue cast to support his Jayhawks.

Mikey was quiet, but very tough, and risk taker. He kept us on alert because he had no fear of getting hurt and he loved to try new things. When he was young we had to stop him several times from trying to ride his bike down cement steps. He taught himself how to do back flips off the diving board at his grandparents’ pool when he was very little. He was always doing flips over anything he could find. Unfortunately we had numerous trips to the ER and a few casts.

Through school Mikey had excellent teachers and he enjoyed learning. He attended Bluejacket Flint, Christa McAuliffe, Trailridge Middle School, SM Northwest High School and The University of Kansas. In addition to sports he was Boy Scout, member of Math and Spanish Clubs, an honors student and in the gifted program through school. He volunteered at Children’s Mercy Hospital for years and worked as a lifeguard every summer during high school. He later worked for Converse and UPS. His current job was at Fedex where he was recently promoted to a management position. He loved his job and had a very bright future plan.

Mikey was a cancer survivor and we had just celebrated 3 years of being cancer free when his life was cut way too short. He had been diagnosed in his early 20’s and underwent surgery and years of procedures and tests.

Mikey grew up to be an amazing adult that we are very proud of. He had a very strong work ethic and sometimes we worried that he worked way too much. He was very kind and cared deeply about others. He couldn’t stand any kind of injustice and would do anything he could to help people. He was generous and very thoughtful. And he could be extremely funny! He was the type of person that everyone wanted to be around. He was an incredible uncle to his nieces and nephew and had so much fun with them. They loved him too and would always ask when Mikey could come over to play. He also loved animals and was the person that everyone trusted to watch their pets. Especially Ted, Dexter and Beau. He is very much loved and missed by his family and friends.

He is preceded in death by his grandfather, “Tee” John Sullivan, who he was very close to. His uncle, Danny Sullivan, and his grandparents, Edward and Wilma Daly, who died before he was born.

He is survived by his parents, Dave and Mary Daly, brother, Patrick Daly, sister in law, Madison, and their 3 children. Twin sister, Emily Wise, brother in law, Nick, sister, Elizabeth Smith, brother, David Daly, grandmother, Lucia Sullivan, and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and lifelong friends.

A private family funeral was held at St. Mark’s in Tucson, AZ and a Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, March 16th 2-4PM at The Yellow Barn, 11272 S. Ridgeview Road, Olathe, KS 66061.

michael-edward-daly.forevermissed.com