Dr. Bob Daly. Another one of my big brothers is gone.

I'm heartbroken -- another one of my favorite Pelham High classmates is gone.  Bob Daly was like a big brother to me.  He may have been a distinguished and very important psychiatrist to the world but to me he was a sweet, funny, caring, protective and very spiritual mentor.  Bob was one of our top athletes as well -- like Jimmy Harris, mentioned in another blog post, Bob was a track superstar.  On campus he was known to us as 'Dingle'.

When we were teenagers I attended Catholic Mass at St. Catherine's on Sunday mornings and Bob would often serve as an altar boy.  Our parish priest was Father Perrotta, a no-nonsense man who was missing a finger -- he had a most unusual chalice with a ring (probably worn at one time on the missing finger) embedded in the stem.  One Sunday I approached the altar to receive Communion and as Father Perrotta leaned forward to place the wafer on my tongue, Bob, who was partially shielded by the priest's shoulder, stuck his tongue out at the priest.  I laughed so hard that I thought I would be excomminicated on the spot.

After graduation from Pelham High in 1953 our classmates lost touch with one another as we scattered around the country and went off to college or careers.  I went to Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts and my cousin Bill went to Holy Cross (where Bob Daly and another big brother of mine, George Cooksey went).  I spotted Bob at a Homecoming Pep Rally at Holy Cross but got swept away by the crowds and we never made contact again until our 50th Class Reunion back home.  In the intervening years I found out that Bob had achieved major success in several areas of his life.  He completed his residency at St. Vincent's and Payne Whitney Hospitals in New York after having served as a Captain in the US Army.  He had been Commissioner of Mental Health for Pennsylvania, then First Deputy Commissioner of Mental Health and Alcoholism for New York City under Mayors Beame and Lindsay -- followed by Chairman of Psychiatry of Park City Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  He worked at Silver Hill Hospital as an Associate Psychiatrist as well as Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  He was also named Physician of the Year for the Millenium by Greater Bridgepost Medical Society in 2000.

Bob enjoyed summers on the North Fork of Long Island in Southold, New York with his wife Joyce and their four children.  He loved sailing, tennis, skiing, track and field and was a devoted member of St. John's Parish in Darien, Connecticut where he also sang in the choir.

Bob was pre-deceased by his wife several years ago but was always an active participant in our 50th class reunion as well as other reunions and functions we've had over the last several years.  He had found a loving companion recently in Barbara Griffin and seemed fulfilled and happy until his diagnosis of lung cancer last September.

In a strange twist of fate I noticed the name of another wonderful classmate from the fabulous Pelham High School, Class of 1953 listed in the local newspaper's obituary column.  It was that of John Michael McHugh, known as Jake.  We had done an exhaustive search for Jake McHugh and Jimmy Harris -- to no avail.  How sad to have lost two big brothers on the very same day (October 16, 2011).  Jake and Dingle are probably running a race somewhere in heaven right now.  How blessed and honored I feel to have called both these fine gentlemen my classmates and friends.  Jake McHugh and Bob Daly rest in peace.