GREENWOOD
John W Bailey Jr passed away on August 15, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee, where he had lived since 1996. He was the son of John W Bailey Sr and Katherine Rypma Bailey. He was 99 years old and lived most of his life in Greenwood. He was a 1939 graduate of Greenwood High School where he was active in sports. Following high school, he attended and graduated from Indiana University School of Business in 1942. During his time at IU, he was named to the Board of Aeons by President Herman B Wells. Immediately following graduation, he joined the US Army and served in Europe during World War II. He was a staff officer in the Ninth Army headquarters and reached the rank of captain.
After the war he returned to Greenwood and joined his father’s insurance agency, John W Bailey Insurance, and enjoyed a 45-year career in insurance sales. He married Alice Schafer from Evansville in 1946. They met as students at IU.
John was active in the local community, chairing the Johnson County Red Cross fund drive one year and the county Salvation Army drive another year. For several years he was a fast-pitch softball pitcher for the American Legion team in Greenwood made up of former high school friends. He was a member of the Greenwood High School building committee in 1953, and represented Greenwood on the Johnson County school reorganization committee. In the late 1950s John and Alice joined Elmon and Lucille Williams forming and financing an exceptional scholastic achievement award at Greenwood High School. Later they were honored when this award was renamed the Bailey-Williams Achievement Award in 1995. He also served on the board of directors of Greenwood Village South.
In the early 1960s John became active in Republican politics. He served as Johnson County finance chairman, 6th district finance chairman, and two terms as 6th district political chairman. He was a delegate to the 1964 and 1968 Republican national conventions. He ran for Congress for the 6th congressional district in 1964.
In 1996 John and Alice moved to Nashville, Tennessee to be closer to family. They moved to the retirement community of Blakeford at Green Hills and participated in many community activities there. They also did a lot of traveling during that time.
John is preceded in death by his wife Alice, son Bruce, and sister Ruth Beighel. He is survived by his son Allan Bailey and daughter-in-law Nancy Bailey of Nashville, grandsons Michael Bailey of Waco, Texas, and Stephen Bailey of Berkeley, California. Also surviving is a sister, Esther Salisbury, of Naples, Florida.
He will be entombed at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens in Greenwood.
The family requests that memorial gifts be made to Belle Meade United Methodist Church, 121 Davidson Rd., Nashville, TN 37205. A memorial service has not yet been planned. Please sign the guestbook for the family at www.Crawfordservices.com.
