Sylvia Gay Daily, 75

April 15, 1946-January 4, 2022

The "candle of life" burned out for a beautiful East Side Finlander girl, Gay "Wattula" Daily! She was very proud of her Finlander heritage and had many fond memories of growing up in their East Side neighborhood. The neighborhood and people always had a special place in her heart! Gay has battled many health issues over the past several years including a kidney transplant surgery back in the summer of 2017. Gay dealt with her health issues courageously and with dignity and was a fighter right to the end, before succumbing to COVID. She was an incredible woman!

Gay was born April 5, 1946, to Taino and Geraldine Kauhanen, who later divorced. Geraldine remarried Andy Wattula and together they raised Gay and brought into this world Gay's little sister Edie Wattula. When Gay's sister Edie started school, her mother simply changed Gay's last name to Wattula because she did not believe it was good for two children in the same family to attend school with two different last names.

On September 11, 1965, Gay married her first husband Willie Johns. They later divorced but this marriage brought into this world Gay's pride and joy…her daughter Cindy who was born on March 19, 1967. While it is

cliche that obituaries state your greatest assets are your kids and grandkids, to Gay it was absolutely not cliché. Her love in her life was her daughter Cindy and her husband Scott, her grandchildren Tyler and Jaimee and her new great granddaughter Charlie Ann. Following both Tyler and Jaimee in their many academic and athletic endeavors brought her such joy and happiness! Gay couldn't have been prouder of their many accomplishments in life. With her beautiful smile, she always told Tyler "That he was her favorite grandson".

She was also extremely proud of graduating from Butte High School. Gay was a member of the Class of 1964. Following graduation Gay embarked on an amazing fifty-year career working for The Montana Power Company which she thoroughly enjoyed. She worked in the Real Estate Department and later as a consultant.

On August 17, 2000, Gay got remarried to Fritz Daily. They had an amazing run for almost 22 years and have shared many incredible and wonderful memories over the years! Fritz called it a little bit of love and lust. She was beautiful both inside and out!

Gay was an excellent seamstress who was taught those skills by her mother Geraldine. She passed that skill on to her daughter Cindy who is also a very accomplished seamstress. Gay enjoyed golfing, bowling, fishing and could also be found spending an evening playing at the local casinos. Her love of life included her 1964 Butte High and Butte Central classmates! She especially enjoyed planning and organizing the reunions shared and attended by both schools. Her organizing skills were unequaled and the class reunion committee fondly referred to her as the "Chief"! Gay was meticulous at recording and sharing class obituaries. Her's will now be included, and at the top of the list.

Gay was preceded in death by her Mother Geraldine Wattula, her Dad Andy Wattula, her birth father Taino Kauhanen, her two sets of grandparents Eli and Hilma Kauhanen and Robert Evans and Ethel C.R. Heil…as well as numerous cousins and extended family. She is survived by her loving husband Fritz Daily, her daughter Cindy (Scott) Paffhausen, her grandson Tyler (Jacqueline) Paffhausen, her granddaughter Jaimee (Chuck) Richards and her great granddaughter Charlie Ann Richards. Gay is also survived by her loving sister Edie (Joe) Moses and her very special nieces Angie Ashby and Amy Moses.

We would like to thank all of the doctors, nurses and staff at St. James Hospital for all of their hard work and compassion shown to both Gay and us right up to the end. We truly appreciate what you do! We would also like to thank Chuck Richards and the entire Duggan Dolan Mortuary Family for guiding us through this difficult process. Finally, thank you to all of our friends and family who have reached out to us during this very difficult time…much love to you all! Cremation has taken place and a private family ceremony will be held. Gay will be peacefully laid to rest. A celebration of her life will be arranged and take place at a later date.

As her life comes to an end always remember…Life throws you ups and downs along the way. Most importantly, enjoy and embrace what you have. Nobody knows what tomorrow may bring. Especially, embrace your family and your friends!

Published by The Montana Standard on Jan. 6, 2022.