We are saddened to share the news of the passing of our colleague and friend, Patricia Daily.
Many in our community knew Pat, worked alongside her, or benefited from her wisdom and compassion. For those who didn’t, we’d like to share just how remarkable she was and the enormous legacy she leaves in our MS community.
Pat retired from her role in 2017 after nearly 30 years at the Rocky Mountain MS Center, where she impacted the lives of thousands with her clarity, grace, and unwavering empathy. When she began her work, MS care looked very different than it does today — she guided patients and families through fear and uncertainty, helping them feel understood and supported at every step.
A licensed clinical social worker, educator, counselor, and the primary author of InforMS for more than a decade, Pat had a rare ability to illuminate complex topics with warmth and accessibility. Her deep devotion to research — and her sharp, curious intellect — meant she never stopped learning, questioning, and translating the latest science in ways that truly mattered to people’s lives. Her MS 101 classes, community programs, and writing reached far beyond Colorado, and laid the foundation for so many of the programs and services still offered by the MS Center today.
After each issue of InforMS, messages arrived from around the world from people grateful for her insights, candor, and humanity.
Pat also had an unmatched sense of humor and a gift for “calling it like it is.” She used perfect, relatable analogies and a candid, grounded approach that helped people feel instantly at ease. She could make someone laugh in the middle of a hard conversation, and she had a way of telling the truth with compassion that made people feel both prepared and empowered.
Pat dedicated her career to helping people live their best lives with MS. She never minimized the challenges, but she always helped others see their strength and their options. Her impact can’t be quantified and it lives on in countless conversations, guidance, articles, and moments of comfort she offered to people who needed someone exactly like her. She was brilliant, generous, thoughtful, deeply kind, and endlessly real.
As we remember Pat, we hope you join us in celebrating the extraordinary legacy she leaves: one of compassion, clarity, humor, and community. She shaped our organization, our field, and so many lives.
Our hearts and thoughts are with all of Pat’s family, friends, and loved ones.
— The Rocky Mountain MS Center Team
