Obituary: Janice Bailey

July 6, 1926-March 8, 2024

Janice Lorraine Bailey, 97, of Oolitic, died on Friday, March 8th, in Palm Bay, Florida.

Born in Oolitic, she was the daughter of Basil and Rae (Byers) Bailey. She graduated from Oolitic High School, Indiana University, and the American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley, California. 

For 27 years, from 1953 to 1980, she worked in the East as an editor and administrator for the American Baptist National Ministries, New York City; Harcourt Brace Publishing Company, New York City; and the American Baptist Women’s Ministries, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. She wrote the book Those Meddling Women during her tenure with the American Baptist Women’s Ministries (Judson Press, 1977). The book narrates the life stories of six women in American history, each of whom was religiously motivated to “meddle” in a cause which by the standards of the day lay outside the realm of a woman’s sphere, and through her “meddling” made a world a better place for all humankind. 

Upon returning to her home in Oolitic in 1980, she was an adjunct instructor of English at Oakland City University Bedford and an editor with the Independent Study Program, School of Continuing Studies, Indiana University. 

She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Bedford, where she was an elder and a member of the Session. She was a member of the Alpha Beta chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, the Lawrence County Art Association, and the Red Hat Society. She was a member of the Oolitic Baptist Church during childhood and young adulthood.

She left home for Washington, DC, at 17 to join the Army Signal Corps during World War II.  After becoming the first in her family to graduate from college, she used her Spanish degree as a teacher and house mom in Cuba, where Fidel Castro’s little sister was one of her students. She lived in London and cherished traveling and adventures.  She traveled to six

continents and countless countries, but she always returned to the home in which she was born, Oolitic. 

She was a proud dog mom and spoiled several through the years. She also loved her family and was always there for them when needed.  She was incredibly close to her grand-nephew, Christopher, with whom she shared a love for baseball, chocolate, and laughing.  They were best friends and were genuinely placed on the earth for each other.

The family would like to thank everyone who played a role in keeping our Auntie Jan in her home for as long as possible and for helping her remain engaged with her church and other causes.  In particular, thank you to the Hawkins family, Morris family, Larry and Harriett Cummings, and the congregation of First Presbyterian Church for their rides, cards, and phone calls.

Surviving are two nieces, Jennifer Hawkins (John Adams) and Julie (William) Springer, of Palm Bay, Florida; two grand-nieces and two grand-nephews: Kendall Eyler and Kelsey Springer, of Palm Bay, Florida; Dane Springer, of Brooklyn, New York; and Christopher Hawkins, of Carmel, Indiana. 

She was preceded in death by two brothers, Kenneth and Robert Dean (Bobby) Bailey, and one sister,
June Bailey Harlow.

Funeral services will be conducted at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 29, 2024, at the Ferguson-Lee Chapel of Thorne-George Family Funeral Homes in Bedford. Burial will follow in the Carmichael Cemetery in Greene County. Visitation will be from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the Ferguson-Lee Chapel.

Memories and condolences can be shared online at www.FergusonLee.com.