Alexandra "Sandy" Sklarz Bayley

Born October 16, 1944 in Ipswich, MA, she was the daughter of the late Alexander and Pauline (Sucharski) Sklarz.

Sandy is survived by her loving husband, Charles (Don) Bayley; her daughter, Vanessa Grant and her husband, Chip; her daughter, Allison Dwyer and her husband, Robert; grandchildren, Bayley Grant, Alexandra Grant, Caroline Height and Charles Height, all of Cary, NC. She is also survived by siblings, David Sklarz of Newport, RI, Joseph Sklarz and Nancy Lavoie, both of Ipswich, MA.

She was preceded in death by sisters, Cynthia, Barbara, Eleanore, Carol Ann and brother, Edward.

Sandy graduated from Ipswich High School in 1962 and married the love of her life, Charles (Don) Bayley, in 1964.

As a young woman, Sandy worked for New England Telephone and Telegraph in Salem, MA. In 1964, she married her high school sweetheart and joined him at Ft Monmouth, NJ. In 1971, Sandy and her family moved to Cary, NC. The stipulation was that if she didn’t like it after a year, she could move back. She re-upped every year. Although a “stay at home” mom for many years, Sandy went on to work at IBM for numerous years and later retired from American Airlines in 2001.

Along with her husband Don, Sandy loved her house and yard and all the improvements they made over 50 years. She was especially proud of the deck they designed and built themselves, which was the location of almost all family celebrations. Everyone loved Sandy’s very outgoing and fun-loving personality. No party would be complete without a game provided by her. In the summer, she could be found in her beloved hammock or lounging on her back piazza. Crafts of all kind were her love. She could do anything with a glue gun. With that in mind, her favorite time of year was Christmas and all the decorations. The focal point was her Christmas tree and all the ornaments she collected throughout her travels. It warmed everyone’s heart to know she was able to complete her tree decorating this year.

Sandy was a very loving and dedicated wife, mother, sister, grandmother and friend. She had many happy times with her grandchildren. They all loved Ipswich summer vacation trips with Gran which included Crane’s Beach days and “kids only” walks downtown. These vacation trips always concluded with the much-awaited fancy dinner at the Hart House restaurant.

Sandy and Don enjoyed many loving years together and celebrated their 57th anniversary on November 27, 2021.

She will be very deeply missed by all her family and friends and will be with us forever.

The family will receive friends from 6:00–8:00 PM, Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 200 SE Maynard Road, Cary, NC 27511.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 at 11:00 AM at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 804 High House Road, Cary, NC 27513. A reception will be held immediately following at the St Michael’s Conference Center (next door). The Funeral Mass will be livestreamed at: https://boxcast.tv/view/sandy-bayley-funeral-mass-626581 (copy and paste the URL into your address bar to join the livestream or scroll down on this page to Services and at the bottom of the Funeral Mass information you can click the play button image to join).

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the following in her name:

St Jude’s Hospital – mail to: Memorial Giving, 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or donate online at: www.stjude.org/give/

Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation – mail to: Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, 230 East Ohio Street, Suite 500, Chicago, Illinois 60611 or donate online at: www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org

Ronald McDonald House – mail to: Ronald McDonald House, 419 S. Hawthorne Road, Winston Salem, NC 27103 or donate online at: www.RMHCPT.org

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.BrownWynneCary.com for the Bayley family.