The Daly family is hosting a movie party for Dr. Miriam S. Daly’s 100th birthday at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Bohm Theater in Albion. The Bohm will show “The Wizard of Oz” free to the community followed by a reception at the Albion Courtyard by Marriott hotel at 3:30 p.m.
Dr. Miriam and her husband Dr. Harold L. Daly arrived in Albion in July 1955 to practice medicine. They initially lived in a rented house on South Ionia Street, just two blocks from Sheldon Memorial Hospital and established their first office above Parks Drug Store. Graduates of the University of Maryland Medical School, he was a general surgeon, and she was a pediatrician who later added an obstetrics specialty. They brought their two children with them from Baltimore and in 1957 moved to Irwin Avenue. By 1959 they had two more children and Harold’s sister, Mary V. Daly, had also come to Albion to practice internal medicine, giving the Albion community three doctors Daly.
Dr. Miriam, who turns 100 on Jan. 26, is often called “a pioneer.” She became a doctor in 1950 at a time when there was a 10% quota for female students at medical schools “I wasn’t a pioneer! My mother graduated from medical school in 1907. She was the pioneer,” she said.
While not a pioneer in her own eyes, Miriam Daly’s century long life is certainly noteworthy. She practiced medicine in Albion from 1955 to 1994. In her four decades as a physician, she took care of thousands of patients, raised four children, mentored more than 70 medical students and involved herself in a long list of Albion organizations.
When she found there were no Girl Scout troops for her daughter, Martha, to join, she started one and remained a Girl Scout troop leader for 15 years, eventually becoming president of the Irish Hills Girl Scout Council after her retirement. She also served as board president of the Albion Community Foundation and the Albion-Homer United Way.
The death of a 10-year old classmate from diphtheria influenced Miriam to become a lifelong advocate for vaccinations, holding free polio clinics in Albion attempting to vaccinate every Albion child. One Saturday morning the officer in charge of the Albion Armory attempted to cancel her Saturday morning polio clinic with only a few hours’ notice because he had double-booked a wedding at the facility. A call to Albion’s Brigader General Noble O. Moore quickly found a way to accommodate both events.
She added an obstetrics specialty later in her career. Her most dramatic case involved a woman in active labor with premature twins who refused medication for her very high blood pressure for religious reasons. The vital signs of both mother and babies were all going in the wrong direction, indicating one or all of them might die without proper treatment. She believed the mother and babies needed immediate transfer to a hospital with maternal and neonatal intensive care units. She packed them up in an ambulance, grabbing some equipment in case the mother delivered the children in the ambulance. Upon arrival at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo, the wife was “out-of-it” and the husband was reluctant to give consent for treatment because “God would take care of her.” Other church members had arrived and were singing and praying like the background chorus in an opera. Dr. Daly convinced the husband that God had put them in a hospital with doctors and nurses who knew how to save their lives. After an emergency Caesarian section, the mother and babies survived.
Dr. Miriam moved to independent living at Chelsea Retirement Community in 2016 to be closer to two of her children. In 2022, she published her memoirs, “Doctor Miriam,” and more recently contributed to her sister’s book, “Four Generations Through Women’s Voices.”
Now nearing 100, Dr. Miriam continues to walk at least 1/8 of a mile every day, go to exercise classes, do daily puzzles, and read a wide variety of magazines.
She has 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Several other family members have continued her legacy. Her daughter, Martha Daly, was an anesthesiologist and son-in-law, Marshall Yacoe, was a radiologist. Her granddaughter, Madeline Yacoe, is an emergency room nurse and grandson, Tommy Yacoe, is studying to become a physician’s assistant.
Dr. Miriam first saw “The Wizard of Oz” as a child in Baltimore and says that “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” is her favorite song. The Daly family encourages all of Dr. Daly’s former patients, friends and their families to help them celebrate at the Bohm Theater.
Courtesy photos
