Bill was born on June 10, 1949 to Ruth Evelyn Kresser Bailey and George Wm. Bailey Jr. He was the second child and only boy in the family, sandwiched between sisters Judy and Evelyn. He died on December 26,2021 at his home in Millcreek, UT. His parents, his sisters Judy Parkinson and Evelyn Vincent preceded him in death as did a niece Carolyn Parkinson.
Bill moved to his house in Millcreek at about age 4 and grew up in what was then called Canyon Rim. He was an active child and according to his neighbors of 68 years, Marge and Chauncey, he loved to hunt, fish and camp. Bill's father was the Scoutmaster and Bill was involved with scouting and tagged along with his father. In his teens Bill helped Marge with her Webelo's and organized a great camp out in the backyard.
Bill graduated from Skyline High School and attended University of Utah for two years, majoring in business. He also joined the Marines but was injured in basic training and received an honorable discharged due to the injury.
In the 1970's he met two people when he went to work as a sales rep for Fastener Engineering. Jim E and John H. They would become his friends for over 50 years. Oh, the tales they can tell of Bill and his escapades.
On July 5, 1977 he married Denise Snow (later divorced) and they moved to Sandy where he met neighbors Boyd and DeeAnn who also became great friends. Bill and even his parents would camp on the west fork of the Duchesne river with Boyd and DeeAnn and have great adventures. Some of the only photos that could be found of Bill were on a camping trip with Boyd and DeeAnn. Bill was picture averse and thus it was necessary to track down one of the only times he could not escape the photographer that being for a high school picture. The picture in this listing is from a Skyline High School yearbook!
A favorite memory of Bill is when he would say he had been out "just bumming" with Boyd and DeeAnn. They had great times together watching sports together and just hanging out, camping, fishing and hunting.
Bill married Sherri Lynn Davis on March 20, 1991 (later divorced) and moved to California for work. He would keep in touch with his mother Ruth by faxing funny jokes and sayings to her almost every day. She shared these with her neighbors and always mentioned how she enjoyed hearing from Bill.
Bill moved back to Utah to help his mother as her health declined. He provided loving care to her in the last years of her life and was with her when she took her last breath. He was a devoted son.
Bill was a sports fan and always had his TV turned to basketball, football, baseball, "the wrassles" or any other sport. He loved the Utah Jazz and he and Ruth had season tickets to the Jazz for many years.
He also was lucky to have great fur children in his three black labrador dogs, Chance, Allie and Addie (his pandemic puppy). He was somewhat of a dog whisperer and his dogs did not bark! They would just look at other dogs barking and wonder what was wrong with them. Marge told me that Bill's Durango was in the shop when he got the call that Addie was available for adoption. Bill was so excited to get this new dog that he had Marge drive him down to get Addie. Addie was quite a handful and provided Bill with endless stories, she dug up his internet lines, sprinkler lines and chewed anything in sight. Addie also liked to stay out all night, summer, winter or fall. She dug a great hole in the backyard where she would lay and rule over her domain. Bill took Addie to doggie daycare at Brickyard Kennel to help settle her down and both Bill There are friends, there is family and then there are friends that become family.
and Addie loved the staff there. Addie & Bill developed many friends at doggie day care and Bill sent pictures/video of Addie in daycare to his friends. The video of Addie in her Halloween costume is something to treasure. A special thanks to Brickyard Kennel for taking Addie in and helping her adjust to Bill's death.
All though not widely know, Bill was a great cook. His beef stew and spaghetti were legendary. Often times he would surprise friends with a home cooked meal or some other great treat like sausage rolls. Bill was a picky eater and often mentioned that "no green thing would cross his lips". Don't bother with a green bean casserole or green salad for Thanksgiving or Easter dinner he would say. Bill also loved a great loaf of raisin bread. He especially liked a special order cinnamon raisin bread from Mama Lake's Bakery in Morgan, Utah. His friends Curt and Kirsten would order this for him and deliver it for special occasions.
As his health declined, neighbors and friends helped him and provided "family support" Marge took him to medical appointments and tests, he joined others for holiday dinners and his regular dining out (often at Over the Counter Cafe) with David S. who was like a nephew to him were all welcome and appreciated. He had planned on meeting David S on the 26th for breakfast but sent him a text saying he wasn't feeling good.
He had a daily call with Jim E. where both of them would check in with each other. Brickyard Kennel kept Addie overnight when Bill had an unexpected overnight stay at the hospital. Thank you to all his friends and neighbors for your love and support over the years. A special thanks to his neighbor Lyna for calling 911 and getting assistance for Bill.
A Celebration of Life is planned for October 8, 2022 from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. Please leave a message on this site if you need further information about the location.
Bill wished to be cremated and to have his cremains interred next to his mother Ruth at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in Millcreek, UT. His cremation was handled by Utah Simple Cremations of Murray, UT.
Thanks to Lorraine W for the picture of Bill and to Marge for the second picture.
Services
Celebration of Life
Family
- Survived By
- Jason Vincent, Nephew
- Tiffany Lofgreen, Niece
- David William Vincent, Nephew
- Gary Parkinson, Nephew
- Christine Parkinson, Niece
- Preceded in Death By
- Ruth Kressler Bailey, Mother
- George W Bailey Jr, Father
- Judy Parkinson, Sister
- Evelyn Vincent, Sister
- Carolyn Parkinson, Niece
Life Story Info
Post Date
Personal Info
Born
Died
Cause of Death
Age
Gender
Occupation
Military Affiliation
- Marine Corps
Worked For
- Polaris Labs, National Vision, Stone Castle Recycling, MeTech Recycling,
- Fastener Engineering
Education
-
Associate'sUniversity of Utah
-
High SchoolSkyline High School
Bonnie Johnson Jean
It does sadden me that my entire family is gone so soon, All of them at an early age.
It does sadden me that my entire family is gone so soon, All of them at an early age.
I am a cousin of Bill's. As a newborn and throughout my younger years, I spent a lot of time at the Bailey home, due to issues my mother had during childbirth and my father being a firefighter.
His parents (my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Bill), were like parents to me. I loved being with them.
I was very sad to learn of Bill's passing. His family will always hold a special place in my heart.
Peace always,
Connie
I lived across the street from the Bailey's for the first 18 years of my life. Today I was scrolling through the obituaries, saw Bill's picture and thought that it looks like "Little Bill''. I had no idea he'd passed away. I had not seen him in five years since my "Papa", Bob (Robert) Durrant passed away in February of 2017. Little Bill used to bring his dog Allie over to visit Papa all the time. Papa loved Allie and his visits with "Little Bill". I'll always think of him as "Little Bill" because his Dad was "Big Bill".
The Baileys were a very important part of my childhood. Two times every summer, for many years "Big Bill" gave our family tickets to Lagoon and Saratoga through the post office. It was one of the major highlights of my childhood.
Little Bill was closer in age to my older brother Rob and my sister Carma. He was nice to me even though I was seven years younger and just the pesky neighbor kid.
I remember he had a go-cart. He wouldn't let me drive it until I was tall enough to reach the pedals. It was so much fun to drive when he finally let me!!!
His sister Evelyn and I were friends. The Bailey's had a giant swing-set cemented in their backyard behind the garage. In the summer, Eve and I spent hours swinging. Bill would sneak up on us, squirt us with the garden hose, then take off running and laughing. He was quite the "Little Stinker".
I will always cherish my memories of the Bailey family.
"Little Bill", Evelyn, Judy, Ruth and "Big Bill"
JoAnn,
Thank you for your memories of "Little Bill". Please note that the Celebration of Life has been moved to Oct. 8, 2022 from June. Hope you might be able to join us.
Kirsten
Little Bill was a much older cousin of mine on his mother's side of the family.
I am saddened to hear the news of his passing.
My siblings and I have wonderful memories of he and his sisters, we spent alot of weekends in the Bailey's back yard at family gatherings, running and playing, as cousins do.
As with most, after our parents had past we rarely saw Bill but on occasion one of us would run into him or hear from him, most often at times such as this.
I will miss his laugh and the accompanying grin that followed.
So sorry to hear of Bill’s passing, I have many fond memories of the Bailey family, unfortunately I lost contact over the years.
Judy had three children, Carolyn, as mentioned in the obituary. Her two surviving children are Gary Parkinson and Christine Parkinson.
Marv,
Thank you so much for the information on Judy's children. I was a friend and neighbor of Bill's and could not find any information on Judy's children, just took the information about Carolyn from Ruth Bailey's obituary (2001) so thank you for providing their names. I'll make a correction in the story.
Kirsten
I knew Billy ,as his mother called him when he was real small,his father worked with my husband George Taylor, at the post office .. bill was a shy boy boy,but say hi when we cameby..Ethel sorry for a loss too young
Dear Mrs. Taylor,
Thank you for your note. I didn't know that Ruth called him Billy but what a sweet memory. I appreciate you taking time to add this to the guest book.