The Obituary below will give you the details of my father's life, but it won't tell you much about the person I call my Daddy.  My Dad was by no means perfect, but he is my Dad and I love him.

It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that my Dad's medical practice was the most important thing in his life.  But after years of hearing how much his patients trusted him, and years of meeting people whom I'd never met but they knew all about his kids, I realized that Dad really did love us.  You see, apparently, he went around town telling everyone about us.

So, how to describe my Dad to you...  He is the man who took one look at my sister Jeannie after I was born and snuck her into the Pennsylvania Hospital (very much against the rules) to see my Mom.  Jeannie had helped Mom through the death of their second child (at 3 days of age) when they were in Taiwan, and when Mom ended up in the hospital after my difficult birth, Jeannie needed to see her Mommy.

Sneaking people and things into hospitals seems to have became a habit for Dad.  I can remember when he snuck Jeannie and I in to see Mom and Danny when Danny was born.  Later he would take us on Sunday morning rounds and we would talk to the nurses and hold the babies while he checked in with patients.  Then there was the time he snuck a fawn into the hospital to have it's leg x-rayed.  One of our horses had stepped on it.  And well, you just had to fix it right (even if he was a hunter)?

My Dad didn't have much time with us because he was generally at work.  But my memories of my Dad include playing in the swimming pool with him (retrieving coins which he threw into the pool was a favorite game), flying kites at the beach in Avalon, shopping (he's the only person I know who loved the grocery store), and the fact that he always had a camera at hand.

I just want you to know a little about how he still lives -  in me, before you read about how he once lived - according to the newspaper.

Dr. Daniel M. Friday, 62, of rural Tyrone, Pennsylvania died Wednesday, March 29, 2000, at Tyrone Hospital.

Born August 21, 1937, in Philipsburg, he was a son of the late Dr. Ernest Dale and Jean Milsom Friday.

On June 30, 1961, he married his first wife, Ruth E. Noble currently of Havertown, PA.  On November 28, 1974, he married his second wife, Maria K. Chutko, who survives at home.

He was a graduate of Mercersburg Academy, and received a bachelor of science degree from Penn State and a doctor of medicine from Jefferson Medical College in 1963. He was board certified in 1972 by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  He served in the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1967 at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Taiwan and was discharged as a lieutenant commander.

From 1969 to 1996, he was chief of OB-GYN at Tyrone Hospital. From 1979 to 1985, he was chief of OB-GYN at Bon Secours Holy Family Hospital in Altoona. He also served on the staffs of several hospitals in the area, including the Philipsburg Hospital up until last year.

He was the first central Pennsylvania doctor to perform laproscopic surgery and the first to allow fathers into the delivery room. In addition to his Tyrone office, he maintained offices in State College and Altoona.

He was a member of numerous medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, American College of Obstetrics- Gynecology, Pennsylvania Medical Society and the Blair County Medical Society. He served on the board of directors at Tyrone Hospital for 25 years, 20 of them as chairman. 

In addition to his wife and ex-wife, he is survived by two daughters and one son from his first marriage, Jean Alice Friday, M.D. of Cade, Louisiana, Nancy Ann Friday, Ph.D. of Lakeville, Massachusetts, and Daniel M. Friday, Jr. of Asheville, North Carolina; one daughter from this second marriage, Tiffany Lee Friday of State College, Pennsylvania; and a brother, Ernest Friday of Cranston, Rhode Island.

Back to Top