Gloria J. Daily

Gloria Lindquist Daily died at her home in South Bend, Indiana on October 9, 2023. She was 92.

She was born in Chicago on January 3, 1931, but her family soon settled in suburban Riverside, a National Historic Landmark. She was proud of her deep roots in that bucolic village — she graduated from Riverside-Brookfield High School, as did her mother and her two children; she was a third-generation member of the Riverside Presbyterian Church, where she was married, as were her mother, sister, and daughter.

Her father warned her that if she went to DePauw University, in rural Indiana, she’d marry a farmer. She did both, graduating with a degree in psychology in 1952, then meeting fellow alum (and farm boy) Loren Daily on a blind date. They married in 1957. Eventually they, too, moved to Riverside, where they raised their children, Bob and Debbie. When she wasn’t nurturing those two fortunate kids, she found many ways to give back to her community, serving as an officer in the PTA and Friends of the Library; an Elder and Sunday School teacher in her church; and a board director of the Erie Neighborhood House, where once a month she delivered meals to senior shut-ins.

Though she loved her Riverside life, Gloria always had a sense of adventure. After college she worked as a secretary, living at home so she could save every penny for a European tour. She visited ten countries in ten weeks. (She was scheduled to be a passenger on the ill-fated Andrea Doria, but fortunately changed her plans.) Later in life, she and Loren visited 38 countries and all 50 states. When they moved to Plymouth, Indiana in 1985, they took up bike touring, once riding 350 miles from St. Joseph to Petoskey, Michigan. She wrote about her adventures for the South Bend Tribune. Her favorite story covered a trip to the Grand Canyon, where she rode a mule named Coley to the bottom and back again.

Gloria loved nativity scenes (she collected dozens from around the world), tapioca, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team, reading, doing the Jumble, and making pancakes for her grandchildren. Those four kids – Emma, Scott, Sean, and Owen – were the light of her life; even though two of them grew up in California, she never missed a graduation, and did whatever she could to attend football games, track meets, and plays. It was a blessing that she lived long enough to meet Lachlan, her first great-grandchild. Even when she was ailing, he made her day.

Gloria will be remembered as a gentle spirit with a smile that could light up a room. She inspired her family to lead lives as loving and giving as hers; we’ll forever be grateful to her, and we’ll miss her.

Gloria was preceded in death by her parents, Robert Lindquist and Mildred (Schuppert) Lindquist, and her husband, Loren Dean Daily. She is survived by her sister, Nancy (Lindquist) Temple; her son, Robert Everett Daily, and daughter-in-law Janet (Kerrigan) Daily; her daughter, Debbie Daily Masson, and son-in-law Grant Masson; her grandchildren Emma Katherine Daily, Scott John Masson and his wife, LeaAnna (Miller) Masson, Sean Michael Masson and Owen Kerrigan Daily, as well as great-grandson Lachlan Grant Masson.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to one of the organizations Gloria supported: the Sunnyside Presbyterian Church Food Pantry (www.sunnysidechurch.org/give); the Erie Neighborhood House (www.eriehouse.org); and the Riverside Presbyterian Church (www.rpcusa.org).

On October 28, at noon EST, there will be a celebration of Gloria’s life at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church, 115 S Frances St, South Bend.