Gene Daly Award
Eugene P. Daly, Jr., (Gene Daly) died in 1988. At the time of his death he was known and admired for his very high level of expertise and the fact that he was a generous and selfless teacher and extremely active in bar activities. His participation within the bar was markedly above that of most people.
Within a year of Gene Daly's death, the people who were on the Council of the Probate & Trust Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association began discussions regarding the creation of an award to acknowledge those people who have devoted time, energy and talent to the section and the estate planning and probate practice in general over and above the contributions of most people. These contributions can be in the form of taking a leadership role within the section, commenting on legislation, assisting in the drafting of forms for probate, guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, participating in the publication of trust and estate materials (i.e. the Probate Administration Manual, The Trust Administration Manual, and Drafting Wills and Trust Agreements), and participating in CLE's and seminars for the public. The idea was that the recipient would have made outstanding contributions with a significant sacrifice of time and talent over an extended period of time. The award was designated the Eugene P. Daly, Jr. Award. It reads:
In appreciation of his outstanding contribution to probate and trust law practice in the State of Minnesota.
At the time the Gene Daly award was created it was with the understanding that the award need not and probably should not be given on an annual basis. This has indeed been the case. Since its creation in 1988 there have been 12 recipients:
Steve Brand (1988)
Jerry Dygert and Gene Olson (1990)
Leigh Mathison (1991)
Tom Waterbury (1992)
John Byron (2001)
Chris Hunt (2003)
Faith Ohman (2005)
Gary McDowell (2007)
Gerald L. Thoreen (2009)
Susan J. Link (2011)
Todd Andrews (2014)
Andrea Breckner (2021)
Biography of Eugene Patrick Daly, Jr.