Clifford "Cliff" C. Bailey's Obituary
Clifford (Cliff) Bailey lived at Regency Oaks in Clearwater. Cliff was born on May 6, 1927 in Cullman, Alabama the oldest son of Comer and Estell Bailey. At the age of 15 he enlisted in the Army Air Force (with the help of his mother on the age thing). While in the Air Force he served as a mechanic and spent most of his tour in China during WWII. He returned from the service to live in Birmingham, Alabama and shortly after returning married his loving wife, Mary E. Bailey. Cliff and "Liz" would have celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary March 23rd. Cliff began working for the Seaboard Railroad Line after coming back from overseas and worked for the railroad for 10 years. During that time he took advantage of the GI Bill and began college at Samford University in Birmingham. Cliff worked the 11pm-7am shift for the railroad and went to college during the day earning his BS degree in 3 1/2 years. After college Cliff, Liz, and their daughter Wanda moved to Wake Forest, NC for him to attend the Southeastern Theological Seminary where in 2 1/2 years he earned his degree in Divinity. Cliff was in the ministry for 26 years pastoring churches in NC, Opelika, Ala., Columbus, Ga., New Orleans, La., and Gainesville, Ga. He left the ministry and began work in Vocational Rehabilitation becoming the Director of the facility in Gainesville, Ga. He and his wife did much to help the people that came through the Vocational Rehab facility and were also very active in the community. Cliff also traveled around to other facilities in the United States for certification purposes. During his time in Gainesville, he also attended the University of Georgia in Athens taking engineering courses. He will surely be rooting for his Georgia Bulldogs from above. Never losing his love of flying, Cliff got his pilots license in his late 40's and flew himself on many of his trips. Unfortunately for him, Liz and Wanda didn't share his love of the sky! After retiring Liz and Cliff lived for a while on Jekyll Island, Georgia and played many rounds of golf. They moved back to Gainesville for a while and ended up moving to Sun City, Florida to be closer to their daughter Wanda and son-in-law Jim King. While in Sun City, Liz and Cliff became avid lawn bowlers and when they moved to Clearwater continued playing at the Clearwater Lawn Bowling Club. Cliff had many interests and loved reading non fiction books about almost anything. This past year he was proud to have been a part of the Honor's Flight to Washington, DC and he was also honored as a WWII Vet at a Buccaneers football game where he rang the bell from the Pirate's Ship. He lived a great life of service to others and will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife, Mary Elizabeth, his daughter Wanda King, his much loved son-in-law Jim King of Safety Harbor, FL., and his brother Charles and his wife Elizabeth of Birmingham, Ala. The Bailey's have been active members of the First Presbyterian Church of Dunedin since 2006.
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