Bailey Grace Purkey

Bailey Grace Purkey was born December 17, 1998 and went home to be with her Savior on January 12, 2020. Bailey graduated from Briarcrest Christian School in 2017 where she ran track and cross country and was a member of the youth group at the Orchard Church. Upon graduation, she enrolled at the University of Mississippi. She was an active member of the Phi Mu sorority at Ole Miss and loved nothing more than being in Oxford with her sorority sisters. It was her happy place. She was majoring in Nutrition and Dietetics and planned on going to nursing school after graduation and pursuing a career as an NICU nurse.

Bailey loved babies and young children and was employed by Need-A-Sitter in Memphis where she quickly became one of their most sought-after sitters, often being asked to take on the most difficult assignments! She always did with the beautiful smile and sense of humor that she possessed. She also babysat for several young families in Oxford whose babies captured her heart. She looked forward to seeing them often and would always report back to her mom how much they had grown and developed.

She leaves behind her parents, Randy and Gretchen Purkey, her brother Jake Purkey and sister Mary C. Purkey, all of Collierville TN, her grandparents Lee and Connie Purkey of Collierville TN and Ted and Bea Snazelle of Clinton MS as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins. Funeral services will be Thursday January 16th at 2:00pm at Crossroads Baptist Church with visitation beginning at 11:30am. Burial immediately following at Magnolia Cemetery in Collierville. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be sent in Bailey’s name to the Small Cell Ovarian Cancer Foundation (smallcellovarian.org).