Back when newspapers were king, Roger A. Daley was king of the News Sentinel. He posted a 40-year career here including 20 years as general manager and president. Under his leadership, the News Sentinel consolidated its dominant position, becoming agent for the Knoxville Journal under a federally-sanctioned joint operating agreement.
Mr. Daley, 97, passed away at his home on July 5, 2020. A memorial service will be held later. Berry Highland Memorial is handling arrangements.
His obituary tells of his birth in Quincy, Massachusetts in December 1922. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps after Pearl Harbor was attacked and served from 1942-46, flying the new B-25 in his capacity as a trainer of air crew members. He married a fellow Marine, Elizabeth Beck, and later served in the Pacific. He was working in New York City when the late Frank Powers recruited him to Knoxville.
He never left.
Mr. Daley was a charter member and past president of the Knoxville Sales Executives Club and the Greater Knoxville Advertising Club. He received the Printer Ink “Man of the Year” award and was a charter member of the Knoxville Better Business Bureau, where he served on the board of directors and headed the Truth-in-Advertising committee. He was a member of the American Newspaper Publishers Association and a very active member of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, chairing several large committees and serving three years on the board of directors. He twice served as consultant on business and marketing in Taiwan and in West Germany.
During one of his terms as president of the Downtown Knoxville Association, the original plans for the Knoxville World’s Fair were proposed. He served on the board of directors and on several committees of the World’s Fair, including the panel that worked on uses of the site after the Fair. He was on the executive council of the United Fund, where he served on the board of directors for many years. He was a president of the Knoxville Tourist Bureau and a vice president of the Chamber of Commerce. He was an officer and board member of numerous other charitable and civic organizations and was a life member and honorary board member of the Knoxville Zoo. He was also a 40-year Civitan member.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, and his brothers, John Leo Jr. and Lawrence Daley. He is survived by his second wife, Patricia Gilliam Daley, whom he married in 2002; a son, William A. “Mac” Daley; grandsons, Marquis (Kara) Daley and Dane (Lauren) Daley; and four great-grandchildren, Noah, Connor, Benjamin and Eden Daley.
