DL pilot Patrick Joseph Daly

 

~ IN MEMORY ~

USMC ret. Lt Col & DL pilot Patrick Joseph Daly

June 28, 1984 - August 14, 2025

 

Patrick “Pat” “LeeRoy” Joseph Daly joined Delta Air Lines 03-19-2018 and was based SLC.  Pat is survived by his wife Kayla, and by his parents and many dear family members.  Services will be held tomorrow and Wednesday, Aug 26 & 27 in Utah.

PCN memorial site

 

To view the online video tribute and to share stories, send condolences, view pictures….please visit the funeral home site at

https://starksfuneral.com/obituary/lt-colonel-patrick-joseph-leeroy-daly/

Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Joseph “LeeRoy” Daly, USMC (Ret.) — a cherished and beloved husband, father, son, brother, uncle, Marine, and friend—was called to God unexpectedly on August 14th, 2025. He was 41 years old.

 

Pat was born June 28, 1984, in Boston, Massachusetts. In a pattern that would prove to fit Pat’s future lifestyle, he moved frequently with his family to happy homes in Massachusetts, Colorado, Florida, Connecticut, and finally Vermont, where he graduated from South Burlington High School in 2002. A fitness enthusiast, Pat discovered his love of hockey, martial arts, track and field, and became a beloved member of the high school hockey, soccer, and track teams. He continued playing hockey throughout his life, including the Annual Armed Services Hockey Association tournament in Las Vegas where his team “The Kids” won multiple championships. Pat nurtured in his siblings a love of hockey in backyard rinks and youth leagues in Vermont, and he supported them throughout their own hockey careers. He wore #4 in honor of his brother Mike.

 

The 9/11 attacks came in Pat’s senior year of high school, and with all the honor, integrity, leadership, and fortitude that was Pat, he stepped up to serve his country and accepted a Naval Reserves Officer Training Corps (NROTC) college scholarship. Pat graduated from Boston University—where he also ran on the BU track team—and was commissioned into the United States Marine Corps in 2006. Feeling the call of the open skies and the ever-present desire for adrenaline, Pat pursued Marine Aviation, one of the most competitive professions in the US military. Pat earned his “wings of gold” and became a fighter pilot in the F/A-18 fighter aircraft, eventually achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His 20-year military career included 12 years of active duty, including two deployments to Iwakuni, Japan and service at USMC aviation bases including Pensacola, FL, Miramar, CA, and Beaufort, SC with Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 101, 224, and 323.

 

In 2018, Pat transitioned from active-duty service to the US Marine Corps Aviation Reserve, where, as a flight instructor, he instilled his knowledge and excellence in the next generation of fighter pilots. His last flight in the F/A-18 Legacy Hornet was Sunday August 10th, 2025. Also in 2018, Pat joined Delta Air Lines as a commercial pilot. He loved the lifestyle and cherished his time with the Delta Family, a circle of friends he came to love. Pat was a leader of the Delta Air Lines Ski and Snowboard Club and competed multiple years in the Annual International Airlines Ski Races in Austria and Switzerland.

 

Pat settled in the beautiful mountains of Utah, where he learned how to paraglide, speed-fly, and speed-ride with pilot friends. Pat fell in love with the extreme sport of speed-riding in Val-d’Isère, France. His last elite heli-speed-ride experience was in April 2025, in Alaska, atop one of the most beautiful and remote mountains in the world. Pat felt the most alive and at peace in the mountains.

 

In 2019 Pat serendipitously reconnected with a former naval aviator, Kayla Tawoda, who was destined to become the love of his life 12 years after they met in Flight School. Pat and Kayla dated from 2019 until 2023. They fell in love in one of Pat’s favorite places to ski and fly, Chamonix, France where they later got engaged on top of the famous mountain peak the “Aiguille du Midi” of Mont Blanc in the French Alps January 2nd 2023.

 

Pat and Kayla got married in a beautiful, intimate autumn ceremony in Park City, Utah on October 7th, 2023. Pat and Kayla had a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love story, filled with magic, synchronicity, and compassion. Pat loved her dearly and his Spirit will live on in her always. Kayla’s love for Pat—along with their two pugs and their daughter, Cherish Amara (who left this world July 30th, 2025) — was as immense as the Universe. Kayla always knew and felt a sacred bond with Pat and his special connection with the world around him.

 

It is impossible to put into words what Pat meant to his family, friends, and fellow Marines. His parents feel eternally blessed for bringing a precious son into the world who grew into a man of faith, honor, and integrity who loved his family fiercely and became loved and respected by so many whose lives he touched. His siblings consider him the essence of a role model, the most remarkable man who never started something he didn’t finish and set the bar high in every aspect of his life while inspiring, nurturing, and supporting his family with his unique mixture of equal parts fun and discipline.

 

Pat also became a treasured uncle to his two beloved nieces who immediately fell in love with his calming and unflappable demeanor. His friends from the Marine Corps, flying, and hockey communities describe Pat as “a brother in every sense of the term.” One described Pat as an “absolute natural and professional in the Jet or under his Wing.” Pat was a free spirit who loved soaring through the sky, hiking mountain peaks, and leading others with boldness and grace, and was the dependable rock who would leave at the drop of a hat and travel to be there for his loved ones in their times of distress and loss. We know he is still doing the same now. Pat was a deeply spiritual man who believed that Christ’s Holy Spirit was guiding him, and he encouraged others to “trust, and always follow the love.” While he was taken from earth in Divine Timing, his Spirit lives on like a jet soaring over mountain peaks through the sky, ascending into the clouds and chasing the sunset. Pat will be with us forever, and we are eternally grateful for the years we were able to share with him.

 

Pat is survived by his wife Kayla Tawoda (Daly), parents Terrence and Theresa Daly, sister and brother-in-law Kelley and Nicholas Schwarz and their daughter Madeline, brother and sister-in-law Michael and Lida Daly and their daughter Lily, father-in-law and mother-in-law Tom and Anne Carol Tawoda, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Tommy and Kat Tawoda, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

 

A celebration of life will be held on Tuesday, August 26 from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 South 900 East, Salt Lake City, UT. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, August 27 at 12:00 Noon at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 300 East 11800 South, Draper, UT. Committal Rite with military honors and flyover will follow at the Utah Veteran’s Memorial Park, 17111 South Camp Williams Road, Bluffdale. The funeral mass may be viewed live by clicking the Watch Service button above.

 

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Wingman Foundation  https://www.wingmanfoundation.org/