Mr. Bailey was born on October 25, 1928 and died ten days short of his 95th birthday on October 15, 2023.  He was born in Washington, Georgia, Wilkes County, to parents William and Bertha Mae Turner Bailey.  He was raised with 14 siblings on a share cropper farm.  His parents and being raised on a farm taught him how to work hard and be self-sufficient.    As a young man he attended the Smyrna United Methodist Church in Washington, Georgia with his family.

As a young man, he joined the United States Marines.  He would volunteer to fight on the front line because he got extra military pay.  He drove the Lieutenant General William Harrison, Jr. and General Mark W. Clark to sign the armistice that formally ended the Korean War on July 27, 1953.  He came to Livingston, Texas after serving as a United States Marine in the Korean War to be near several of his siblings that had moved from Georgia to Texas.

He was a member of the Livingston Volunteer Fire Department.  #8 served from January, 1961 to June, 1979.  He was Fireman of the Year in 1973 and Chaplain from 1974 to 1979.

He spent many years as an employee of Sam Houston Electric Cooperative until his retirement.  He was a Livingston ISD mentor for more than 20 years at Timber Creek Elementary School.   He received the State Board of Education Heroes for Children Award in 2009 in Austin, Texas.   He was an active member of First Methodist Church, Livingston where he taught children's Sunday school, cooked for church events and weekly dinners and was an usher.  He served on the Polk County Child Welfare Board for many years.  He was the 1994 Polk County Chamber of Commerce Senior Citizen of the Year.  He was an avid gardener and horticulturist.  Being outdoors was his favorite place to be.  He loved to cook and feed his large family and was a master at fish fry's.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Bertha Mae Bailey; his wife Georgia Sides Bailey, his daughter Linda Loyce Bailey O'Bryan; brothers William Allen Bailey, Joe Sanders Bailey, Marvin Bailey, Quincy Bailey, Edward Baxter Bailey, James Herbert Bailey, Holbrook Eujan Bailey and George Richard Bailey; sisters Mary Bailey Nettles, Minnie Elizabeth Bailey Flurry, Nancy Marcia Bailey Weaver, Hattie Louise Bailey and Fannie Leona Bailey Bussey.

He is survived by his son, James (Blue) Hagemeier and wife Tracey of Livingston, daughters Debra Jenke and husband Ralph of Livingston, and Karla Lewis and husband Ross of Livingston.  Surviving grandchildren April Wunderlick and Joe, Andrew Haynes and Amanda, Austin Haynes and Brenda, Brooke Koop and Jack, Ben Lewis, Erin Godso and Kevin, Davis Hagemeier and Zoe, Audrey Clark and Christian, Susan Jenke, and Karen Stoneberg and Kaden and 13 great grandchildren.  He is survived by one brother, Oscar Eugene Bailey of Livingston as well as multiple nieces and nephews, including in the Livingston area: Glenn Bailey, Randy Bailey, Arlene Richardson, Elaine Minter, Michael Nettles, and William (Buddy) Bailey.

Pallbearers are grandsons: Andrew Haynes, Ben Lewis, Austin Haynes, Davis Hagemeier, Joe Wunderlick, Jack Koop and Kevin Godso.