Born in Great Falls, Montana, Daly "gave up a promising career as a commercial artist" to care for his family after the death of his father.
[2] Daly worked in the engineering department of the Cascade County Surveyor's office before enlisting in the United States Air Force.
[1] In 1970, Governor Forrest H. Anderson appointed Daly to a seat on the Montana Supreme Court vacated by the death of Justice John W. Bonner.
[2] They married in 1942, and had two sons together; later in life, Ruth became chronically ill, and after Daly's resignation from the court he "devoted most of his energy" to caring for her, until her death in 1987.
[1] Daly died at the Rocky Mountain Care Center in Helena, Montana, after a lengthy illness, at the age of 81.