Austin "Jim" James Bailey

Austin James Bailey Jr. (Jim) was born on February 25, 1922 to Austin and Belle (Shay) Bailey in Worcester, Massachusetts. He passed on peacefully in the early hours of June 24th, 2021, surrounded by family and under the excellent and compassionate care of staff at Revere Court Memory Care of Crystal Lake, Illinois, Dr. Alexander Potermin, and JourneyCare Hospice. He was 99. He lived a long life, a life that enriched all who knew and loved him.

In 1941, upon graduation from Norwood High School, he entered Northeastern University, College of Engineering in Boston where he completed Civilian Pilot Training, thereby launching a career as a military pilot followed by a career as an engineering test pilot.

He enlisted in the US Navy in 1942 and flew as a Marine Corsair fighter pilot in the Pacific. After World War II, he completed engineering school, graduating in 1950. Soon after, he was recalled for the Korean Conflict. He was shot down over North Korea and rescued after ditching in the Yellow Sea. The sheer fortune of his rescue at sea persuaded him to justify his life by making a worthwhile and meaningful contribution to this country. His commitment to hard work, his desire to create a better world, his quiet strength, and his abiding loyalty to his family and friends became his mission.

In 1952, Jim joined Honeywell in Minneapolis as a engineering test pilot. That career involved testing flight controls for automated carrier landings, fly by wire, side stick controls, and fire control systems for such aircraft as the F2H-3, Canadian CF-100, F-100, and F-101. He participated as a test crewman in the human factors review of the Mercury Space Capsule design. He worked with Scott Crossfield and Neil Armstrong on the X-15 flight control system. Additionally, he worked on the flight controls for the SR-71 and the X-20 orbital space vehicle. As a test pilot and consultant, he worked with the Swedish Royal Air Force on systems for the SAAB fighter series.

Over those years Jim received many awards for his achievements including the Safety Award from the USAF for accident free test operations in 1961. He was awarded a Silver Cup for the success of the Microwave Landing System Tests. In 2003, he was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame. Most notably, in 1979, he was awarded the Octave Chanute Flight Award in New York, a national award that honors an outstanding contribution by a pilot for advancing the art, science, and technology of aeronautics.

A few of his many society memberships included the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Minnesota Business Aircraft Association, the Zuhrah Shrine Flyers, where he was recognized for his generous financial support of the Shrine Hospitals for Children. He was also a member of the Quiet Birdmen for 25 years. He has especially supported the YMCA for their summer scholarship program for underprivileged children and for teaching him to swim when he was a boy.

Jim was an engineer and a friend to many throughout the world; he and his wife, Nancy had dinner with Sergei Krikalev, the Russian Cosmonaut who flew in space for ten months. Sergei made Jim an honorary cosmonaut.

More than anything, he was a father and family man who taught us a kind of code to live by; that code was that there still exists “The American Dream,” that if one works hard and has humility, a person can achieve their dreams. “The Right Stuff” is about achievement combined with character. The spirit of love, loyalty, and generosity he demonstrated through all his actions will continue to inspire his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren well into the future.

He is survived by his daughters Dale Bailey (Rick Christman) of Beaufort, South Carolina, Deborah (Robert) Rosulek of Crystal Lake, Illinois, Dawn Bailey of Santa Rosa, California, and his son, Austin J. Bailey III. of Philo, Illinois; his grandchildren Christopher Norris, Catherine Beth Erwin, Amy Erickson, Nancy Kramer, Andrew Rosulek, Christine Bailey White, Carly Bailey De Castro, Lindsey Bailey Doenitz, Rose Bailey, and Grace Bailey; his eleven great grandchildren, and his two great great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his granddaughter, Claire Elise Bailey, in November 2004 and his wife, Nancy Bailey, in February 2017.

He was smiling during his last moments at the thought of being reunited with Nancy, the love of his life, his wife of 71 years.

A memorial service will take place at 10:00 AM on July 14, 2021 at First Congregational Church of Crystal Lake. Inurnment will take place at a later date.

Those who wish to honor his memory may make a donation to the Wardle Family YMCA Summer Scholarship Program for underprivileged children. Address 1801 Richmond Avenue Port Royal, SC 29935 or to the Shriners Children’s Hospital. Address 215 Radio Dr, Woodbury, MN 55125 or to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. Address Attn: Online Services, P.O. Box 97166, Washington, DC 20090-7166.