Elmwood – Bailey Christian Spencer, 20, of Okinawa, Japan, formerly of Elmwood, passed away at 8:06 a.m. on Saturday, February 5, 2022, in Okinawa, Japan. Bailey was born on June 14, 2001, the son of Debra M. Spencer.

Surviving are his mother, Deb of Elmwood; brother, Maxwell Spencer of Peoria; his grandfather, Robert F. Spencer of Peoria Heights; grandmother, Fern L. Spencer (Markley Madden) of Freeport, FL; aunt, Juli D. (Mark) Crider and cousin, Isabella Crider all of Rydal, GA; great-aunt, Christina Wagner of Madison, WI; godmother, Colleen Tammeus of Peoria; and godbrother, Joshua Tammeus (Melissa Marnell) of Oceanside, CA. Bailey was preceded in death by his great-grandfather, Claude F. Spencer; great-grandmother, Lucille A. Spencer; and great-grandparents, Roma and Fred Wagner.

Max and Bailey shared a very close relationship with their great Grandma Roma and great Aunt Chris, spending every Christmas holiday with them for Bailey’s entire life. Their presence in the boy’s lives left an indelible impression. Bailey will be laid to rest with his Great Grandpa and Grandma Wagner.

Bailey attended schools in Peoria, Chicago, and Elmwood, and had friends in each of these places. Bailey genuinely believed that you do not have to have a traditional education to be successful and reach your goals and insisted on trying a non-traditional way of receiving his diploma. After much convincing, Bailey enrolled in Penn Foster Online High School. His family often refers to Bailey as “not a butt in a seat.” He graduated from Penn Foster while also participating in PERFECT (Peoria Educational Region For Employment and Career Training), which is an amazing career and technical education program that includes Agriculture, Business, Family and Consumer Science, Health Science and the Industrial/ Technical trades. Bailey additionally worked at both Gil’s and The Warehouse in Hanna City during these years and showed that he had an amazing work ethic.

Bailey grew up being mentored by his older brother and many close friends, three of which enlisted in the Marine Corps. While at Richwoods High School, Bailey participated in JROTC, which also impressed upon him the importance of the military. At the age of 14, Bailey made the decision that he wanted to enlist in the United States Marine Corps and was proud to do so at the age of 17. He went to bootcamp in July of 2019, one month after turning 18 years old, ended up breaking one foot during the Crucible, yet finishing it, and subsequently healing just to end up breaking his other foot in combat training. After healing, he attended his training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and was finally stationed in Okinawa, Japan in July of 2020 working as a Motor Transport Operator, where he resided until this time.

Bailey, or Bay, as his family nicknamed him, was always following in the footsteps of his big brother and godbrother, tagging along with them in any way he could. Max was Bailey’s biggest role model and influence, often referring to him as his “mini me.” Max inspired his main passion for cars and working on them. From hours of working with his dear friend, Ethan, on his Toyota 4Runner, which was gifted to him from his godbrother Josh, to purchasing one of his dream cars in Japan, a Nissan 180sx, Bailey labored over his cars in every spare minute. Bailey’s dream was to go to Japan in the military and purchase his dream car; he certainly accomplished this dream. He built lifelong friendships while in Japan and loved the country, its culture, and its many attributes.

While Bailey was serving overseas it was common for him and his “Ma,” as Bailey lovingly referred to his Mom, to FaceTime or exchange pictures with his many pets back home, which included his nephew dog, Tucker, Roma, his many cats, goats and chickens. Bailey adored his pets and missed them immensely. His beloved Lab, Riley, held a special place in his heart and will be interred with him.

His funeral services are pending scheduling. He will be laid to rest with military honors and with his great-grandparents in Smithville Cemetery, off Hanna City-Glasford Road in rural Hanna City. Please visit the “Bailey C. Spencer Funeral Service” group on Facebook for service updates and to view his funeral service live.

The Bailey Spencer Memorial Fund has been created to support and encourage others to follow in his path and take the non-traditional route of education and career in the trades, technical, or mechanical programs and the military. Memorial contributions may be made payable to the Bailey Spencer Memorial Fund, in care of Bank of Farmington, P.O. Box 320 Farmington, Illinois 61531 or via the following link https://bit.ly/BaileySpencer to help financially support those working to achieve their goals (a 501c3 will be set up at a later date). Condolences may be left for Bailey’s family on his tribute wall at www.haskellfuneral.com. 

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