Carolyn Jo Bailey

March 28, 1936 - February 20, 2021

ON FEB. 20, 2021, WE LOST A LOVING WIFE, MOTHER, GRANDMOTHER, GREAT-GRANDMOTHER AND FRIEND. CAROLYN WAS BORN ON MARCH 28, 1936 IN HAMBLEN COUNTY, TN. SHE NEVER KNEW HER BIOLOGICAL PARENTS, BUT WAS ADOPTED AT ABOUT THE AGE OF 2. CAROLYN SPENT HER CHILDHOOD YEARS LIVING WHITESBURG, TN. SHE ATTENDING HIGH SCHOOL AT THE TRAINING SCHOOL—NOW UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL—AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE COLLEGE, CAROLYN RECEIVED A SCHOLARSHIP AND EARNED HER B.A. DEGREE IN ENGLISH FROM KING COLLEGE IN BRISTOL, TN IN 1957. WE MET AT KING. WE WERE MARRIED ON JUNE 5, 1958 AT PRINCETON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN JOHNSON CITY. CAROLYN LATER RECEIVED HER MASTERS . DEGREE FROM UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, IN 1971. OUR CHILDREN DEMARIS AND ERIC WERE BORN IN 1962 AND 1963. FOR 17 YEARS SHE HAD TAUGHT ENGLISH IN JR AND SR HIGH SCHOOLS IN ORANGE COUNTY, FL. WE MOVED FROM FL TO WATAUGA COUNTY, NC, IN 1985 TO WORK AT LEES-MCRAE COLLEGE IN BANNER ELK, NC. SHE SPENT THE LAST 4 YEARS BEFORE RETIREMENT IN 1998 WORKING IN MEDICAL RECORDS AT THE AVERY COUNTY, NC HOSPITAL. WE MOVED TO BRISTOL, TN IN AUG 2001. CAROLYN LOVED MUSIC AND SANG IN CHURCH CHOIRS FROM AGE 3 UNTIL 2018. SHE WAS HONORED TO OCCASIONALLY DIRECT HER COLLEGE CHOIR. ANOTHER GREAT LOVE AND INTEREST OF CAROLYN WAS QUILTING. SHE JOINED LOCAL GUILDS IN BOONE, AND NEWLAND, NC. SHE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN ORGANIZING THE GUILD IN NEWLAND, NC. CAROLYN LOVED READING AND WAS A FAST READER. SHE LIKED READING FICTION BEST OF ALL, BUT ALSO READ IN OTHER FIELDS. AT OUR LOCAL CHURCH, SHE AND I HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE BOOK STUDY GROUP CAROLYN LEARNED TO SPELL PHONETICALLY AND COULD SPELL ALMOST EVERY WORD SOMEONE ASKED HER, CAROLYN WAS A GREAT HELP TO ME FOR THE TIME I SERVED AS A PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER—FULL AND PART-TIME FROM 1960-1968. WHEN I ATTENDED SEMINARY IN RICHMOND, VA, SHE TAUGHT FOR 2 YEARS IN LOCAL PUBIIC SCHOOLS. WE BOTH LOVED TRAVEL IN THE US (AND ABROAD IN 1975). HER OTHER INTERESTS MUSICAL PROGRAMS, LIVE THEATRE AND EDUCATIONAL LECTURES. WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ACTIVE IN A LOCAL CHURCH, MOSTLY PRESBYTERIAN. OVER THE YEARS WE BOTH BECAME THEOLOGICAL MORE LIBERAL AND JOINED SUCH A PCUSA CHURCH IN ELIZABETHTON, TN. IN 2009. CAROLYN LOVED TO GARDEN AND COOK. FLORIDA’S SANDY SOIL DID NOT PERMIT GARDENING, BUT WE HAD A GARDEN IN NC AND GARDENED FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS WHILE LIVING HERE IN BRISTOL. SHE LOVED MY FAMILY AND WAS LOVINGLY ACCEPTED BY ALL MY RELATIVES. MY FATHER LIVED WITH US FOR THE LAST 12 YEARS OF HIS LIFE, SPENDING HIS SUMMERS WITH MY SISTER LILLIAN AND HER FAMILY IN VA. CAROLYN AND MY DAD BECAME GREAT FRIENDS AND SHE WILLINGLY COOKED SPECIAL MEALS FOR HIM MANY TIMES, AS HE ATE NO BEEF AND DID NOT DRINK MILK, FOR EXAMPLE. THEY ALSO INVOLVED THEMSELVES WITH LITTLE PROJECTS AROUND THE HOUSE FROM TIME TO TIME. DURING HER BUSY PROFESSIONAL LIFE AND AT OTHER TIMES SHE ALWAYS HAD SOME KIND OF PROJECT GOING ON, LIKE TAKING A SEWING CLASS OR SEWING CLOTHES OCCASIONAL FOR HER AND HER FAMILY. CAROLYN SPENT THE LAST YEAR OF HER LIFE SERVING AS A KIND OF NURSE TO ME, AS I SUFFERED FROM C-DIFF FOR 9 MONTHS FROM 12/19. I MAY NOT HAVE SURVIVED WITHOUT HER CARE AND LOVE. THANK GOD, I WAS ALLOWED TO HELP HER IN SMALL WAYS WHEN SHE SPENT HER LAST TWO WEEKS IN THE HOSPITAL. WE ALL AGREED, INCLUDING CAROLYN, FOR HER TO RECEIVE COMFORT CARE FOR THE LAST DAY OF HER LIFE, AS HER CONDITION WORSENED RAPIDLY. HER ASHES WILL BE SCATTERED AT STEELE CREEK PARK IN BRISTOL, TN. IF ANYONE WISHES TO HONOR HER MEMORY, YOU ARE INVITED TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 119 WEST F STREET, ,ELIZABETHON, TN 37643 [email protected] www.fpcelizabethton.org WE ALL KNOW THE WORD “UNIQUE” DESCRIBES EVERY HUMAN BEING. CAROLYN WAS, INDEED, UNIQUE, WHOSE LOVE TOUCHED THOUSANDS OF LIVES OVER THE YEARS. MAY GOD BLESS AND KEEP US ALL IN HIS/HER CARE NOW THAT CAROLYN HAS BECOME A WONDERFUL MEMORY FOR US ALL.