Delbert Lee “Cigar” Daisey was born on March 6, 1928, in Chincoteague, Virginia and died on April 19, 2017.
He was known as “Cigar” Daisey.
Daisey was an American waterfowl wood carver and decoy maker.
Daisey was the son of Herbert Lee Daisey and Emma Jane Daisey.
Daisey resided and worked in Chincoteague, Virginia, and was the resident carver at the Refuge Waterfowl Museum.
Daisey’s decoy carvings are recognized for both their artistic value and functionality as working pieces for waterfowl hunting.
Daisey’s works include black ducks, mallards, redheads, ruddys and red-breasted mergansers and often crafted in drake (male) and hen (female) pairs.
Daisey had carved about 1900 ducks in total and he generally used cork or wood as his medium.
Daisey carved his first duck out of balsa wood in 1940 at his father’s wood shop.
Daisey earned his nickname in 1945 while leaving cigar butts to taunt game wardens while poaching ducks on Assateague Island.
Later on, he was an avid conservationist.
Delbert Daisey passed away at 89 years old.