Obituary of Edwin BAILEY

October 13, 1927 – Morden, Manitoba

August 10, 2018 – Calgary, Alberta

Ed Bailey passed away on Friday, August 10, 2018 at the age of 90 years, predeceased by his wife and lifelong sweetheart, Eleanor, on June 30, 2018.

Ed grew up in Manitoba, graduating from Maple Leaf Collegiate Institute and then Normal School. Ed taught grades one to twelve in a one-room school house before training as an X-Ray Technician at Winnipeg General Hospital, graduating in 1952. His hospital career continued for almost forty years: at Grey Nuns Hospital in Regina from 1955 to 1966, then the brand new Rockyview General Hospital hired Ed to set up the X-Ray Department, where Ed served as Department Head until he retired in 1990.

While in Regina, Ed met the love of his life, the woman with the “voice of a nightingale,” soprano Eleanor McKay. They married on June 27, 1959 at St Andrew’s United Church.

Ed and El lived and worked in Regina, and adopted two children, Joan and Ross. In 1966, soon after the family moved to Calgary, a special Christmas present arrived—newborn baby Kathryn.

Ed and Eleanor shared a love of music and singing, which they expressed throughout their lives together. They sang and performed in several choirs in Regina and Calgary. Ed was honoured with an award for Significant and Lasting Contribution to the life and work of Southwood United Church for his years of service as a Board Member and Choir Director. Ed’s baritone voice will be missed by The Master’s Singers and the High Country Chorale, choirs he sang with for more than fifteen years.

Folks recall fondly the annual Christmas Carol Sing the Bailey family hosted in their home. Friends, music, and mulled wine!

Ed was a curious and engaged man, reading, attending lectures, and volunteering, right up to age 90. Ed and Eleanor enjoyed the Calgary Philharmonic, he coached his son’s baseball team, was appreciated as a Volunteer through the City of Calgary Adopt-A-Park program. He planted and harvested a superb vegetable garden each year. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal for Community Service.

Ed’s devotion to his wife touched people at Father Lacombe Care Centre, where he visited his Ellie daily for five years. He was Uncle Ed (and “Uncle Sweetheart!) to numerous nieces and nephews. He was loved and respected by friends and neighbours in all his communities, and we will miss him a great deal.

Ed is survived by his children and grandchildren: Joan Marie Bailey (Tim Derkitt) of Calgary, Ross McKay Bailey (Richelle) and granddaughter Jessica Lynn of Surrey BC, and Kathryn Louise Dunlop (Robert), and granddaughters Addison Grace and Ella Kathryn, of Downers Grove, Illinois. Ed was predeceased by his parents, Francis Henry Bailey and Annie Amelia Matthews, brother Ron and wife Marge; sister Merle and husband Gordon (all, Manitoba). He leaves to mourn his siblings: Rae Nuttall of Kelowna, and Jean McDiarmid (Bill) of Toronto.

Please join us in remembering Ed through music with one of his choir groups, the High Country Chorale, at the Red Deer Lake United Church, on Sunday December 9, 2018 at 2:30 PM. Come enjoy the songs of the season, food and fun. Condolences may be forwarded through www.mcinnisandholloway.com.

The family wishes to thank Ed’s Palliative Home Care team for their ongoing support and kindness, and the staff of Southwood Hospice, who provided tender care for Ed and his family in the last weeks of his life.

If you would like to visit Eleanor Bailey’s obituary you may do so at McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes - Grace Eleanor Bailey

In living memory of Ed Bailey, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Fish Creek, 14441 Bannister Road S.E., Calgary, AB, T2X 3J3, Telephone: 403-256-9575.