William J. Bailey |
| Posted 2019-12-13 by mhenderson |
| Published in the Daily Miner on Dec. 12, 2019 - Kingman, Arizona - William J. (“Bill”) Bailey passed away on Nov. 26, 2019 at his home in Kingman with family by his side. He was born on Dec. 12, 1930 in Painseville, Ohio to Virginia K. [Barnes] Bailey and Jerome M. Bailey. His family moved to Mesa, Arizona in December 1945 after WWII. Bill attended Mesa schools, graduated from Mesa High School in 1950, and started an apprenticeship with Gibbons Mortuary. He met Sondra J. Levelle in high school. Her family had also moved to Mesa from Ohio and the two were amazed to discover they had lived only a few blocks from each other in Ohio but had never met because they attended different schools. They married on Sept. 7, 1951 and had four children: William K. (“Kelly”), and Barry D. were born in Mesa., then Jeanne K., and James D. were born after they moved to Kingman, in December 1955. After moving to Kingman, Bill went to work at the Ford Proving Grounds in Yucca, Arizona. After 34 years of marriage, he and Sondra divorced in December 1985. He worked for Ford until he was offered an early retirement package in January 1987 and then he continued working there part time after ‘retirement’ for an additional eight years during busy testing periods. Bill met Norma J. Hughes, and they married on March 29, 1986. Norma was the director of Mohave Museum of History and Arts at that time. Together they made several great trips and cruises with many of their good friends from the community. The “best” were trips through the Panama Canal, a cruise from England to St. Petersburg, Russia and Sweden. There was also a memorable 22 day trip to Australia seeing sights that included the “Leonard Neal Ranch”. They spent 20 days altogether in Australia traveling from the N.E. corner to Central Australia, saw Ayers Rock and had climbed half way up, but the waiting bus honked its horn, so they had to hurry back down. The trip continued down to the S.E. corner to Sidney, Australia and then over to New Zealand (North Island) and finally back home. Thirty-three of their good friends made the trip with them. Bill was a lifetime member of the Kingman BPOE Elks Lodge and worked for them in many different capacities, including serving a term as Exalted Ruler. Bill also served a total of nine years in the Arizona National Guard in both Mesa and Kingman. The National Guard sent him to cooking school at the Army base in California; there is where he not only got his renowned cooking skills, but also his lifelong love of cooking good food. He always said it was easier for him to cook for 400 than for four, and his family, friends and fellow Elk members can attest to his cooking abilities. Bill was preceded in death by his son, Barry D. Bailey, and then by his parents, Virginia and Jerome (“Jerry”) Bailey, then his brother, Richard F. Bailey. His wife of 27 years, Norma J. [Hughes] Bailey died in 2013 and his former wife Sondra [Bailey] Henricksen died one week later. Bill leaves behind two sons, William K. (Charlotte) Bailey of Meadows Place, TX., James D. Bailey of Kingman, and a daughter Jeanne K. (Rick) Clouse of Marietta, OK. He also leaves behind two siblings: his brother James E. (Maridel) Bailey of Lafayette, IN, and his sister Kathryn [Bailey] Blair of Kingman. He is also survived by a stepson, Jeffrey (Joyce) Sandefur of Kingman, and a stepdaughter Melinda Hughes (Rich) Lindauer of Stroudsburg, PA. His grandchildren: Chelly Bailey Green, Kacey Bailey Boyer, Jason (Alison) Bailey, Katherine (Matt) Stickles. Step-grandchildren: Elizabeth Peters of Phoenix, Cassie [Sandefur] McCuen, Leia Sandefur, both of Kingman, Andy, Emma and Henry Lindauer of Stroudsburg, PA. Bill also leaves behind many nephews and nieces and 19 great-grandchildren. A memorial service and celebration of Bill’s life will be held on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019 at the Kingman BPOE Elks on Gates Avenue in Kingman at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the KRMC Hospice Center or to the Mohave Museum of History and Arts. Bill will be missed by all of his family and by many friends. He was a good son, a great dad and stepdad, a great brother and a good friend to many. May you rest in peace Bill, you were truly a very well loved man. |
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