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In memory of
Marilyn O'Connor Bailey
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Marilyn's obituary
She was born the eldest daughter in a family that boasted seventeen children and spent a happy childhood on the family farm in Herrick PA. She hiked through the woods, swam in the creek, and had picnics on Table Rock. She loved school, was a twirler in the band, read thousands of books, wrote poetry, and all the while she helped to take care of her little brothers and sisters. She was devoted to her “mother and daddy” – as she called them – all her life.
After high school graduation, she spent some time studying nursing at Mansfield Teacher’s College, but she was taking a break from school and waitressing at Pipher’s Diner in Wysox, when Ike Bailey walked in and ordered a cup of coffee. He became a regular. It took some time, but he finally convinced the pretty waitress to go out with him.
They were married February 3rd, 1956. She used to tell about how there was a snowstorm that day, and the preacher almost didn’t make it up to the house.
She loved to tell stories. She could tell them while she mixed up batter or biscuits, and she could draw you pictures in the flour. She was a wonderful cook. She made the best pancakes (even when she was out of eggs or milk – her pancakes were still good). She poured them any shape you wanted. She often made little men or a Mickey Mouse – once a granddaughter requested (and got) rainbow pancakes.
Campfires were the best with Mommy. She’d roast hotdogs and marshmallows and sing songs. She took us to Africa on lion hunts without ever leaving the backyard. She showed us the big and the little dipper, and then she’d camp out with us under the stars.
She loved games and puzzles. You couldn’t beat her at twenty questions no matter how obscure your object. She loved to laugh, and her April Fool’s pranks are legendary.
She named the home in Bardwell where she and Ike lived for much of their life together, Shady Lane. From there, she drove dozens of children to Sunday school and AWANA. She was the Sparks leader at the Eaton Baptist Church for many years.
She was patient and kind while she cared for elderly friends and relatives. She always went above and beyond. She drove forty-five minutes (one way) almost every day for many years fulfilling a promise made to her father to make sure his cousin Elizabeth was cared for at the end of her life.
Her door and her refrigerator were always open. Neighborhood children knew they were welcome, and her house was often full to overflowing. Mommy was always available, day or night. No matter what time the phone rang, she answered. She’d talk and listen for as long as she was needed.
Plants loved her. Her Christmas cacti were enormous, and they bloomed on schedule although she didn’t try to coax them in any way. She transplanted hundreds of fragrant violets to the little garden under her kitchen window. Every spring, almost before the snow had melted, she’d start traipsing through the woods on the lookout for the first pussy willow and dogwood to bloom.
Even though Alzheimer’s robbed her of her quick wit and her memory, she kept smiling. The friendly curiosity in her big, brown eyes kept shining out until almost the last day.
She leaves many grieving hearts: her son, Pete Bailey (Mary); her daughters Laura Peters (Stephan), Jeanie Zick (Al), and Marjorie Gaylord (Mark); 23 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; 4 great-great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents: Paul O’Connor and Anna Laura Cole O’Connor; her husband of 52 years, Carroll Bailey (Ike); her daughter, Mary Ann; and two grandchildren Nerissa Bailey and Daniel Peters.
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Laura Peters.
