Mrs. Virginia Marie Bailey passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 19, at her home in St. Joseph. A nearly-lifelong resident of the city, Mrs. Bailey was 92 years old and a member of St. Francis Xavier parish. She had been seriously ill for a few months with complications from peripheral neuropathy, and had begun hospice care at her home.
Virginia Bailey was born on July 2, 1926, the only child of Cecilia Marie (Blasjewski) and Stanley Thomas Hruby. Her father worked at Stevens Hat Company and her mother was a homemaker. Virginia attended Saints Peter and Paul parochial school and Central High School in St. Joseph from her home on Lafayette Street. Upon graduation she started nursing training at Sisters Hospital, and was awarded the R.N. Designation in 1945. She then worked at Sisters Hospital, operated at that time by the Daughters of Charity.
That year she met (William)Bernard Bailey, of Troy, Kansas and St. Joseph. At that time Mr. Bailey was newly demobilized from his service in the Pacific theatre of World War II, and had started working at The Morris Plan, a savings and loan company in downtown St. Joseph. He eventually became president of the company. Virginia married him on December 28, 1945, and they took up residence in Troy, Kansas. They moved to St. Joseph with their growing family in 1950, and lived on Lafayette Street for the next 23 years. They attended St. Francis Xavier church and their children went to the parish school. Virginia was president of the PTA association in 1956-57 and an active member through her children’s school years. She was a member of the Great Books Society in St. Joseph. The family moved to a new home in 1973 and maintained that residence to the present.
In 1964, with her youngest child now in school, Virginia returned to her nursing career at St. Joseph’s/”Sisters” Hospital. She was a renowned nurse, admired for her organizational skills and thoroughness. She joined the office of Dr. Caryl Potter in the late 60s and later worked for the practice of Drs. Ellis Berkowitz and Charles Mullican. She retired from nursing in 1988 and began a life of volunteer work, foreign travel, gardening and enjoying the lives of her children and friends.
At St. Francis she was a member of the St. Ann’s Altar Society, and a team leader in the Funeral Luncheon Ministry. She also enjoyed the parish’s Bible study groups and organized various fundraising events and sales. Her main activity with the parish was volunteering at the House of Bread, a food distribution service for the needy, where she worked for more than 25 years. She also enjoyed membership in the Companions of the Society of the Precious Blood, the Daughters of Isabella, and the Charitable Ladies of St. Joseph.
Virginia’s husband died in 1990. She is survived by four of her five children: Mary Bailey, of New York City, Patricia Rhodes (m.Brad Rhodes) of Greenwood Village, CO, Margaret Bailey (m.Gary Mongiovi) of New York City, and William Kent Bailey (married Martha LaPlante) of Prairie Village, Kansas. Her daughter Jean Bailey Smith (m.Stephen M. Smith) preceded her in death, passing away in 2017. She is also survived by her two grandsons, Michael and Andrew Rhodes of Lone Tree, CO.
Mass of Christian Burial at 10AM, Thursday, May 23, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. Interment at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
A rosary will be recited by the Daughters of Isabella at 4PM, Wednesday at Heaton-Bowman-Smith & Sidenfaden Chapel where a Parish rosary will be recited at 6PM. The family will receive friends following the parish rosary until 8PM.
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to the House of Bread, c/o St.Francis Xavier Church, 2614 Seneca, St. Joseph, MO 64507.