Thomas F. Daly, deceased, long figured actively in business circles of Denver as president of The Capitol Life Insurance Company, which he organized in 1905, and also as president of The Thos. F. Daly Agency Company. He was born at West Superior, Douglas county, Wisconsin, May 26, 1858, of sturdy, industrious Irish stock, being the son of John and Margaret Daly. His early boyhood was spent in the cooper country of northern Michigan, where we was employed as a youth in one capacity and another in connection with copper mining operations. He showed in his early boyhood an independence of spirit and a desire to make his own way which was later expressed in his marked ability for management.
Believing there were greater opportunities for a young man in the west, he came to Colorado in the '80s and secured employement in the mines at Leadville, first as an ordinary miner working underground, and later, through his persistency and ability, undertook the leasing business himself, operating mining properties under bond and lease. He enjoyed moderate success, and continued this line of work until the late '80s, when he was prevailed upon by representatives of an eastern company to undertake the writing of insurance. From the start he was a success in this business, demonstrating great sales ability, and through application and perseverance gradually operated over a more extensive territory, until finally he was appointed general agent for the entire state of Colorado, with offices in Denver. Mr. Daly represented such companies as the United Sates Life Insurance Company, the New York Life Insurance Company, the London Guarantee and Accident Company, the Hartford Steam Boiler Insurance Company. As a result of the progress of his agency he was given the states of Wyoming and Utah, in addition to Colorado. In July 1905, Mr. Daly organized The Capitol Life Insurance Company, feeling that the state of Colorado and surrounding western states could and would support a sound, properly organized company; that such a company, with competent management and strict economy, would be of much service to its policyholders, and of great benefit to the community, as well as a credit to the city and state. Associated in the organization of this company were a number of responsible and successful business men, whose constructive genius and ability had played a great part in the growth of the state. The company was organizaed without any promotion expense whatever. He personally managed from the date of organization of his company the underwriting, investments, expenditures, and policies, and continued the business of the Capitol Life on the theory that the minimum overhead possible, plus the utmost conservatism in investment, couple with the firm conviction that the company should be a success in and of itself, would win out.
Thomas F. Daly was a man of vigorous mentality, of untiring energy in the work he loved, and with a personality so dominant that it made him an outstanding figure. He loved humanity, and had a deep, abiding sympthay with the struggles of all classes. His interest in his employes extended far beyond the daily routine of business, and to those who worked with him in building up this company the association will ever be remembered as a rare privilege. Mr. Daly's activities were closely associated with all lines of progress in city and state, and his pride in the west and its great future was unlimited. But The Capitol Life Insurance Company was his pride. He worked for it night and day, gave generously to it, both of himself and his funds, held out unfailing optimism in the face of every reverse, and through strenuous and worrisome periods, in the face of keen competition and frequent disappointment, through the ravages of the influenza and the World war, he successfully and courageously piloted the insitution to a position where at the time of his death in 1921 it occupied an enviable reputation in sixteen states, and exhibited a financial strength more than sufficient under any circumstances to take care of its obligations in full.
In Leadville, Colorado, in 1887, Mr. Daly was united in marriage with Miss Elthea Bell Cooper. Mr. and Mrs. Daly were the parents of a son and two daughters: Clarence Joseph, who has succeeded his father as president of the Capitol Life Insurance Company and who is mentioned at greater length on another page of this work; Imogene, now Mrs. I. D. Fisher, of Denver; and Helena, now Mrs. Rembrandt Peale, Jr., of New York. Mr. Daly was well known in social circles, holding membership in the Denver, El Paso and Country Clubs, while his political affiliation was with the democratic party.
