Mr. Howard Eugene Baily

Born on August 25, 1928, in Greensburg, Kansas, the older son of Henry Marshall Baily and Gertrude Helen Siders Baily. Howard moved with his family to California in 1936, living in a tent and exploring all the great fishing holes as his father worked on Parker Dam. In the years between 1936 and 1943, the family would travel between Parker, California; Ajo, Arizona, Redding, California for work, settling in Needles, California in 1943. It was in Needles that Howard integrated into the family of William “Red” and Dorothy Pearson Dennis, showing up just as dinner was being served – dating daughter #2, but marrying daughter #1 (Millie) in February of 1947. He would smile as he told of hunting and fishing “expeditions” along the Colorado River with his father-in-law. Howard worked in the ice plant in Needles until relocating to Barstow in 1947 to enter Santa Fe’s electrical apprenticeship program. The early 60’s saw the space race begin and Howard moved to Goldstone Tracking Station and for 22 plus years contributed to many successful missions. While he did not share details, we knew he had heard transmissions from the crews to Mission Control that are now recorded in history - “Houston, we have a problem.” Howard’s home was his safe-haven and became that to many. A place built with love, sweat and tears, a place one could go for comfort, love and guidance. A life of 93 years, hard times and good times; a life of seeking God’s face, learning God’s grace for himself and then imparting that grace to others. A quiet man of faith who loved his family to his very core, proud of what each had accomplished and tirelessly praying for their walk with God, extending the great grace he had come to understand as God’s Unconditional Love.