Eleanor F Bailey

Eleanor Forbus Bailey of Winter Haven, Florida passed away Monday, July 30, 2018. She was 89. Born July 3, 1929, in LaGrange, Georgia, Joyce was the third child of William Bonner and Lucile Rutledge Forbus. Always an adventurer, after graduating from Tift College, Joyce served as the secretary to the US Air Attache in Rome. It was at the Italian embassy that she met the love of her life, a handsome Navy Chief. In 1960 Eleanor Joyce Forbus married James Morris Bailey at the Valley Grove Baptist Church in Thomaston, Georgia. Three years later, their only child, Jane Elizabeth Rutledge Bailey, was born in Rota, Spain. Joyce was an educator all her life. When her husband retired from the Navy, Joyce started a career that spanned more than forty years with the Polk County School Board. Initially she taught English at Kathleen Senior High School before transferring to Winter Haven High School where she taught English during the second session. She earned her Master's degree in Library Science from the University of South Florida and began work at Brigham Elementary School as the Media Specialist sharing her love of reading with the children. In the summer of 1981 she returned to Winter Haven High School as their Media Specialist where she spent years engaging students and teachers alike. In addition to her passion for travel and education, Mrs. B was known as the baker, hosting spreads which included chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, merry cheese cake cookies, pecan sticky buns and a host of other favorites for the teachers and staff of her school. Eleanor Joyce Forbus Bailey was a woman of great faith. She was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church where she faithfully served as a member of the Altar Guild for decades. She will be remembered for her huge heart that was both kind and fearless. Her gentle strength and tireless work effort touched countless lives. Mrs. B was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 44 years, James M. Bailey, her parents, her older sister Helen Salter, and her brother Robert Forbus. She is survived by her loving daughter Jane Bailey of Winter Haven and her little sister Anne Forbus Stowers (Joel) of Athens, Georgia along with a host of nieces, nephews and friends. A funeral Mass will be celebrated by Father Tim Shaw, assisted by Deacon Susan Hansell and accompanied by Bill DeTurk, at 10 AM Saturday, August 4th, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 656 Ave. L, NW, Winter Haven. Burial will take place in the rose garden immediately thereafter. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Polk Education Foundation, 1530 Shumate Dr, Bartow, FL 33830 to the Jim and Eleanor Bailey Scholarship Fund. Condolences to the family may be sent to:www.oakridgefuneralcare.com