Gerald Eugene Bailey

Gerald Eugene Bailey was born on October 18th, 1946 in Detroit, MI to the union of AnnieMae Hackett-Bailey and Wilbert Bailey. He was the second of three children. Growing up, Gerald was affectionally called Eugene and most of his family still refers to him by that name. He attended schools in both Michigan and California. Gerald had a mixture of Catholic and public education throughout his primary school years. He was proud to say that he spent his early teenage years in Compton, California. In fact, it was more like he was “straight out of Compton.” He earned his high school diploma from Pershing High School (Detroit, MI) in 1965 and completed several classes at Wayne County Community College in Detroit, MI. He worked a few jobs before he landed a position with the City of Detroit. He retired from the City of Detroit in 1999 as a paving foreman.

In the late sixties, Gerald began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Gerald dedicated his life to Jehovah. He further showed his dedication to Jehovah by water baptism in July of 1970. He faithfully served Jehovah God for over 50 years while spending several hours sharing his faith with others. Gerald was the spiritual head in the family and he made sure that his family was fed spiritually.

Gerald met the love of his life, Joyce, and they were married on September 5th, 1970. They just had the opportunity to celebrate 50 years together as husband and wife. They spent many years traveling the country. They often talked fondly of hanging out with fellow married couples, going to beautiful places such as Hawaii and enjoying life together serving Jehovah.

Gerald and Joyce had two children. They were married almost ten years before their firstborn daughter, Marissa, was born. They welcomed a baby boy, Gerald M., shortly after. Gerald was particularly fond of his children. He doted on them often showing pictures to anyone who would look and would boast about his children’s report cards. Family was most important to Gerald. No matter what he was doing he always had his children with him. He supported his children in every endeavor and was their biggest fan. Gerald loved traveling and camping with his family. He did camping in tents, popups and a camper. Gerald couldn’t wait to be a granddad. He had three grandchildren that he loved immensely.

Gerald developed a fascination with photography in high school and it followed him throughout life. Gerald will always be remembered for taking pictures of people and places. Another one of his favorite past times was going to amusement parks. He was as comfortable on roller coasters as he was behind the camera. He enjoyed bowling, roller skating and swimming. On Sundays, you could always find him watching a football game. He was also particularly fond of automobiles and watching movies. Gerald had a distinguished laugh and he was a jokester. When entering a room, you could find Gerald by his infectious laugh. It was rare that you didn’t find a smile on his face.

Gerald was preceded in death by his parents, AnnieMae and Wilbert, Uncle Jack and his only sister, Leona. He leaves behind his devoted wife, Joyce, his children, Marissa (Delacie) and Gerald (Doyinsola), his brother, Sylvester, his beloved Aunt Yvonne, and his grandchildren, Austin, Christian and Tiwalayo. He also leaves a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends to cherish his memory.