Mr. Earl Bailey

September 8, 1921 - November 10, 2014

RETIRED BAND DIRECTOR AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR Earl H. Bailey of Acra, NY passed away on November 10, 2014, at the age of 93 after a number of years in retirement from employment at Cairo Durham Central School. Born September 8, 1921, he was the son of the late Earl Parker Bailey and Inez Higgins Bailey, formerly of Hinsdale, NH and then Delmar, NY. Mr. Bailey’s early interest in music began with trumpet-cornet lessons at age ten. He became child soloist with New England area bands including Brattleboro Vermont Military Band, Keene City Band, and Turners Falls Military Band in Massachusetts. He also played with the 172nd Vermont National Guard Band in Brattleboro, VT. When Mr. Bailey entered the music department at Ithaca College, he was selected as Cornet Soloist with the Ithaca College Concert Band in 1939. He graduated with a B.S. degree in Music Education in 1942. World War II brought him into military service in April 1943. At first he was assigned as a member of the 393rd and then the 736th Army Air Force Bands in Syracuse and Rome, NY. Because of conditions in the European theater, he was shipped overseas as a combat infantryman in the Central Europe and Rhineland Campaigns during the Battle of the Bulge. Shortly after that, he was pulled from the ranks and sent to serve as a cornet player with the United States First Infantry Division Band (The Big Red One). After being honorably discharged from the Army, Mr. Bailey secured employment at Madison Central School in Madison, NY where he taught instrumental and vocal music, directing the band and orchestra from 1946-49. While in Madison he was a member and soloist with the Oneida Silver Company band and orchestra. He also attended Trinity College of Music in London, England. In August of 1949 Mr. Bailey left Madison to accept a position in Instrumental Music at Cairo Central School in Cairo, NY. He organized the first band and within a few years took his band to contests. The band played at the New York World’s Fair and for the opening of the Harriman to Catskill section of the New York Thruway. The band played for many local parades and gave a series of summer lawn concerts for several years. In 1952 he received his M.S. degree in Public School Administration from the University of New York at Albany. Following the 1962-63 school fire, Mr. Bailey was appointed Supervising Principal, a position he held until his retirement in 1976. He supervised a large part of the reconstruction of the school building including the addition of temporary trailer classrooms, and also implemented split sessions due to an increase in student enrollment. Mr. Bailey was involved in the centralization with Durham Central School, as well as construction of the new Cairo Durham Central School building, which opened in 1975. Mr. Bailey’s lifetime avocations included cabinet making and horticulture. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Maude McIsaac Bailey. He is also survived by two sons, Robert E. Bailey (Marianne) of Glenville, NY, an engineering manager retired from Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation—Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, and Loren T. Bailey (Janet) of Stanley, NC, a Senior Geoscientist retired from Chevron-Texaco in New Orleans, LA. He is also survived by three granddaughters, Allison Bailey of Enfield, CT, Meredith Bailey (Michael MacLeod) of New Bedford, MA, and Erin Bailey Meyer (Michael) of Charlotte, NC. At the convenience of the family, there will be no public funeral or services. Burial in the Round Top Cemetery will be private. Condolences may be made at www.richardsfuneralhomeinc.net.