Obituary

Juanita M. Bailey passed away on January 5, 2025, at Brookdale Charleston Gardens in Charleston, West Virginia. She was born, Juanita Frances Manning, on September 25, 1929, to Fred T. Manning and Lakie Daniel Manning in Glen Rogers, West Virginia. She was welcomed by her older brother, Donald A. Manning.

As a young child, her family moved to a pastoral farm in Fairdale, West Virginia, where she was raised in the company of her paternal grandmother and alongside her same age beloved aunt, Lauretta Daniel Summers. She attended Raleigh County public schools and graduated from Trap Hill High School, where she was a cheerleader and homecoming queen in 1947.

In the fall of 1947, she moved to Morgantown to attend West Virginia University as a prospective journalism major. Upon volunteering to work on the WVU 1948 Monticola yearbook, she met the handsome young editor, Gene W. Bailey, and they began a great romance. At this time, they also embarked upon their life-long friendships with their dear friends, John Batlas, Jr. and A. James “Tony” Manchin, the genesis of the present third generation span of those treasured family friendships.

In September 1948, she and Gene were married in Beckley, West Virginia. She continued her education in Morgantown while Gene attended law school, and during that time, their two sons, Gene II and Jeffrey, were born. In 1952, they left Morgantown and moved to Belle, West Virginia to raise their family, and this thriving small community was their home for the next four decades. It was here where they welcomed their daughter, Jennifer, and where Juanita maintained a warm and welcoming home, cared for her family and continued her higher education, eventually graduating from Morris Harvey College. She and her family also developed lifelong friendships in their hometown with so many wonderful people, including Dr. James H. Gray and his wife, Pauline; Earnest and Juanita Parry; and Paul and Delores Helvy, whose daughters Dee and Sherry have been so generous and thoughtful to her throughout the years.

Besides her fierce love and resolute devotion to her family, Juanita’s passion was education. She began her career by teaching at Malden Elementary School for 20 years. She loved teaching and excelled in it, receiving many accolades along the way. Her greatest joy was seeing “kids get it”, and she often said she did not find teaching to be “work”. She was a favorite teacher and mentor to many students as well as young teachers. And she introduced countless students to the wonders of our nation’s capital as she took them on patrol trips to Washington, DC. While teaching she also continued her education, earning a masters degree and many additional hours thereafter, studying at both Marshall University and the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies. She was a lifetime learner and was committed to the mission and vital nature of public education. She concluded her career as an administrator and elementary math and science supervisor with the Kanawha County Board of Education for several years before retiring.

Additionally, throughout their lives, she nurtured and instilled in her own children the value of education and its transformational power to the greater good. Her “teaching” to them is perhaps best expressed in the words she wrote to her daughter while she was studying abroad in college:

“Education is –
Searching for truth, beauty, reality and understanding—
Pursuing excellence in all things—
Conducting a dialogue with the past and present in the quest for meaning and relevance—
Learning traditions and culture other than your own, learning the values and lessons of history—
Emphasizing the sense of belonging for every human heart—
Striving to eliminate alienation and prejudice—
Bringing the gifts of new ideas, new convictions, new vigor to future generations.”

In 1992, her husband Gene passed away after 44 years of marriage. In 1993, she moved to Charleston, where she spent the remainder of her life. She transformed her house into a social hub where many gatherings and celebrations with family and friends were made special by her and enjoyed by all. She also began travelling extensively, both domestically and internationally, often with her brother-in-law, James Bailey, his wife, Joan, and daughters Gwenyth and Jeanne. She also frequently traveled abroad with groups led by her friends and educators, Armando and Delores Alcazar. Along her travels, she met a constant companion and fellow wanderlust, Dr. Donald Rice. They not only travelled extensively and dined out often, but faithfully attended the symphony and other musical and theatrical performances, both near and far.

In addition to her parents, husband, brother, aunts and uncles, she was preceded in death by her stepfather, George Roberson, daughter-in-law, Bonnie Bailey, and companion, Don Rice. Left to cherish her memory are her children, Gene W. Bailey II, Jeffrey A. Bailey, and Honorable Jennifer F. Bailey; grandchildren, Brooke Schoen, Gene W. Bailey III, Franklin Bailey, Kelly Lee, Trenton Bailey and Lora Greer Walker. She is also survived by seven great grandchildren, four nieces and one nephew, many dear cousins, and countless students whose lives she impacted along the way.

Her family would like to thank her physicians and nurses who provided great healthcare during her final years, and further express their appreciation and gratitude to the staff at Charleston Gardens for their affection and care for her.

A celebration of her life will be held in the Spring. She will be privately interred in the Bailey Family Mausoleum at Spring Hill Cemetery, Charleston, West Virginia.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made “In Memory of Juanita Bailey” to Marshall University Foundation, 519 John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV 25703 or The West Virginia University Loyal and Permanent Endowment Fund, P. O. Box 11070, Charleston, WV 25339.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.barlowbonsal.com.

Barlow Bonsall Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.