Delbert Daisey
Delbert Lee "Cigar" Daisey (March 6, 1928 - April 19, 2017), known as "Cigar" Daisey, was an American waterfowl wood carver and decoy maker. He was born in Chincoteague, Virginia. He lived at the Refuge Waterfowl Museum. His decoy carvings are recognized for both their artistic value and functionality as working pieces for waterfowl hunting.
His works include black ducks, mallards, redheads, ruddys and red-breasted mergansers and often crafted in drake (male) and hen (female) pairs.
He had carved about 1900 ducks in total and he generally used cork or wood as his medium. He carved his first duck out of balsa wood in 1940 at his father's wood shop.
The Smithsonian has his works in their collection. He earned his nickname in 1945 while leaving cigar butts to taunt game wardens while poaching ducks on Assateague Island. Later in life, Daisey was an avid conservationist.
Daisey died on April 19, 2017 in Chincoteague, Virginia, aged 89.
References
1928 births
2017 deaths
American artists
American environmentalists
People from Virginia