Dorothy M. Bailey

Dorothy M. “Dot” Bailey        â€œbeloved mother and grandmother”

SHINGLEHOUSE, PA---Dorothy M. “Dot” Bailey, 87, of Shinglehouse, passed from this life to life everlasting with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Thursday, September 5, 2013 in Wellsville Manor, Wellsville, NY, after a long illness.
     Born September 14, 1925 in Olean, NY, she was a daughter of Howard A. and Bernice Kinney Gardner, her mother having died when Dorothy was just 3 years old.  On April 16, 1944 in Shinglehouse, she married Laurence R. “Bunk” Bailey, who passed away on September 17, 2008.
      She was a graduate of Shinglehouse High School, Class of 1943, where she was active in the band and chorus.
      Mrs. Bailey had been employed as a telephone operator for the former Oswayo River Telephone Company in Shinglehouse, as a bookkeeper/teller for the former First National Bank in Shinglehouse for 10 years, and in the payroll department at the former American Olean Tile Company.  She also taught piano for 20 years.
     Mrs. Bailey was a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church in Shinglehouse where she served on several boards, and as a Sunday school and Bible school teacher and guild leader.  She sang in the choir for 68 years and was an organist for 35 years.  She used her sewing talents to help make curtains for the choir loft and baptistry, and collars for the choir robes.    
     She was an active member of the Oswayo Valley Historical Society.  She was a tenor with the “Sweet Adelines” and in a barbershop quartet, the “Mountain Echoes”.  Dorothy sang in the Passion Play Chorus at the Coudersport Consistory several times.  She played and sang for many weddings and funerals, as well as at nursing homes. She was a former member of the Coudersport Country Club.  Being a talented seamstress, she made clothing for her family and others, including bridesmaids’ dresses.  She learned and loved to quilt and was instrumental in starting the Piece Makers Quilting Club, which continues today.  
     Her most successful career was wife and mother.  She excelled at making a loving home for her family.  She set a wonderful example of compassion, being always ready with a pie or rice pudding to anyone going through a trial.
     In answer to many questions from her family, Dorothy wrote a book of her own story in 2001.  She called her life “inconsequential, but unique”, but she made a lasting, wonderful impact on many lives.
     Surviving are two sons, Laurence R. “Larry” Bailey, Jr. of Galeton and Timothy J. (Julie) Bailey of Olean, NY; a daughter, Lyn A. (James) King of Ceres; seven grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
     In addition to her parents and husband, Mrs. Bailey was predeceased by a sister, Mildred G. Ellis; and a daughter-in-law, JoAnn C. Bailey.
     Friends may call on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Virgil L. Howard Funeral Home, 118 South Union Street, Shinglehouse.  Funeral services will be held on Monday, September 9, 2013 at the First Baptist Church, Shinglehouse, at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Russell J. Horning, pastor, officiating.  Burial will be in Maple Grove Cemetery, Shinglehouse.
     In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church, PO Box 68, Shinglehouse, PA 16748; the Oswayo Valley Historical Society, PO Box 699, Shinglehouse, PA 16748; or to the Shinglehouse Volunteer Ambulance Association, PO Box 98, Shinglehouse, PA 16748.