Catherine Katie Bailey

Distinguished teacher, beloved sister and aunt, faithful and fun friend.

Catherine Bailey, known professionally as Kate and as Katie to her family and those close to her during her early life, died at her home in Fairfax, Virginia on Wednesday, August 13, 2014, after a characteristically spirited 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer in which she was both supported by and supporting friends and family. She was 73.

The daughter of Edward Bradley Bailey, an advertising executive, and Joan Mulvihill Bailey, a homemaker, author, and leader of a national Catholic women’s organization, Miss Bailey was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 25, 1941, the tenth of eleven children.

Miss Bailey spent her early years in Rydal and Jenkintown, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia and in Roland Park in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Immaculate Conception School in Jenkintown, finishing grade eight in 1955. After graduating from Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School, Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania in 1959, Miss Bailey studied at Mt. Aloysius College in Cresson, Pennsylvania, graduating with an A.A. in 1961. According to the website of Mt. Aloysius College, “the history of the college is rooted in the life of the Religious Sisters of Mercy who founded and sponsor Mt. Aloysius. . . . Catherine McAuley founded the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831 as a congregation devoted to service. It was one of the first active congregations of women religious in Ireland.”

Along with several classmates and a faculty member from Mt. Aloysius College, Miss Bailey joined the Religious Sisters of Mercy in 1961 and remained a Sister of Mercy until 1979. Throughout her life, Miss Bailey remained close to the Sisters and to the spirit of their congregation, “dedicated to honoring the mercy of God, [in an] enterprising response to need, coupled with compassion and hospitality.” “Katie will always be remembered as a valiant woman in life and in death,” said Sr. Anne E. McLaughlin, a friend since the early 1960s.

In 1966, Miss Bailey received a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at another institution founded by the Sisters of Mercy, Misericordia University, Dallas, Pennsylvania. She earned a Master of Arts in Education from Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey, in 1977. Miss Bailey began her professional life in education during the 1960s, continuing to teach or serve as a guidance counselor in Catholic schools in, among other places, New Philadelphia, Lancaster and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Bayside, New York.

In 1979, Miss Bailey moved to Fairfax, Virginia and joined the faculty of St. Leo the Great Catholic School. St. Leo’s School has been recognized as one of the top private schools in Northern Virginia. At St. Leo’s, Miss Bailey taught middle school students for twenty years, and continued for another seven years as a second grade teacher until she retired in June 2006. Miss Bailey maintained her connection to St. Leo’s School and Parish until her death. “Katie had a great knack for stopping by the rectory office at busy and sometimes stressful times.

It was God's gift to us, His way of making us slow down, smile and just enjoy the joy she radiated,” said Fr. David A. Whitestone, J.C.L., Pastor of St. Leo’s Church.

During her years on the faculty of St. Leo’s School, according to a list supplied by the school, Miss Bailey was the Principal’s Delegate, and filled numerous academic roles, including membership in the Diocesan Social Studies Curriculum Committee, the Design for Excellence Steering Committee, and the Diocesan Social Studies Guideline Committee. She also served as Chair of the Design for Excellence Personnel Committee and as Primary Social Studies Coordinator. Miss Bailey was nominated for Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers by her students.

In letters, parents communicated sentiments such as: “[our son] considers Miss Bailey to be one of his closest friends and . . . he always felt that he could always go to her with any problem or difficulty. [She] has compassion and interest that is essential when dealing with a young teenager”; and, “[my son] felt that [she] treated him as an adult making him feel responsible for his choices – while treating all of the kids fairly. I also truly appreciate [her] understanding kindness and patience toward [my other son].”

Miss Bailey led or supported many service, formation, athletic and recreational activities for students, the school, and families, once observing that she “liked to learn, but not necessarily from books.” For example, the school listed her service as: moderator of the Service Committee for Junior High; member of the Vocations Committee; monitor of the Student Patrol; coordinator of the Awards Assembly; moderator of It’s Academic; coordinator for St. Leo’s of the National Geography Bee (St. Leo’s representative qualified for State Competition for several years); and overseer of the St. Leo’s “Lost and Found.” Miss Bailey participated regularly in activities such as the Faculty/Student Basketball Game, the St. Leo’s Golf Tournament, Auction/Gala, and Quiz Bowl. She consistently supported extra-curricular activities for students by attending functions in evenings and on weekends such as Science Fair; Fun Fair; Diocesan Spelling Bee; band concerts; sports banquets and Chess Club. Miss Bailey planned and coordinated the “May Crowning” at St. Leo’s and prepared students for First Penance and First Communion.

After her retirement, Miss Bailey continued to develop professional and personal relationships. From February 2009 to October 2012 she served as a substitute teacher for St. Andrew the Apostle School in Clifton, Virginia. Glenda Sigg, then-principal of St. Andrew’s and longtime friend of Miss Bailey, remarked, “Kate developed relationships with people in all walks of life. She ended her substitute teaching at St. Andrew’s when the steps to the second floor became difficult to maneuver. However, she still visited our school and was enthusiastically greeted by faculty, staff and students. Although her encounters with students and staff alike were brief, Kate was able to develop lasting relationships with them. Students would see her in the halls and call out, ‘Hi, Miss Bailey!’ Kate was truly amazed that students remembered her name. However, as a teacher and substitute teacher, Kate had the personality and skills to win over the hearts of students and get them to achieve to their God-given potential.”

A long-time friend “who knew Kate years before she retired” commented, “teachers like Miss Bailey never retire. Even though years ago she left the classroom, her mission to live God's word was just intensifying. It was present in every action and word she did in God’s classroom -- life. When she found out she had cancer, Kate never questioned God's will. She did not shake her fist in anger and ask why, but bowed her head in prayer and said ‘how. How am I to show your will with this illness?’ She taught us all until her last breath that ‘Thy will be done.’”

Miss Bailey also spent significant time both before and during her retirement with family and friends nearby and around the country. For example, she spent months in California for a series of several years, even becoming a fan of the San Francisco Giants and the San Francisco 49’ers.

Miss Bailey’s niece, Polly Murray, said, “I have known Aunt Katie since I was a little girl, of course, but the last year or so has confirmed and reinforced what I knew: first, Aunt Katie made everyone who met her feel special in his or her own way; and, second, she was quite skillful at bringing people together.”

Mary Frances Williams, Miss Bailey’s grand-niece, said, “Well beyond her many personal and professional achievements, Aunt Katie’s grace was her joyful, direct, fun-filled, kind and realistic outreach to every person she met. For example, in the difficult moment when Aunt Katie informed us that she had been diagnosed with cancer, and my husband told her that she was his favorite, she replied with a comforting smile, ‘c’mon George, I am everybody’s favorite!’”

Miss Bailey is survived by her sisters, Susie (Joan) McCormick of Grasonville, Maryland and Winkie (Ann) Ambrogi, (with her husband retired Commander John Ambrogi, U.S.N., a long-time resident of Fairfax, but recently both have moved to Aurora, Illinois) and her brothers, Edward Bailey of Port St. Lucie, Florida, John Bailey of Houston, Texas, William Bailey of Richmond, Virginia, Thomas Bailey, also of Houston, and Bernard Bailey of Irving, Texas, many sisters-in-law, and her niece, Mary Beth McCormick Dale, and, in addition to Polly Bailey Murray, many other nieces and nephews, and, in addition to Mary Frances Williams, many other grand-nieces and grand-nephews as well as great-grand nieces and nephews. Miss Bailey was preceded in death by her brothers, Joseph Bailey formerly of Brooklyn, New York, James Bailey formerly of Seattle, Washington, and M.R. “Bob” Bailey formerly of Hilton Head, South Carolina and her brother-in-law Patrick McCormick, formerly of Grasonville, Maryland.

As a post-script, another friend offered: “the word nice held a special significance for Kate. She heard it during a eulogy for a friend’s mother and then used it herself in a eulogy she gave for a dear friend. However, she never stopped to consider how accurately it applies to her. If you look up the word nice -- when applied to a person – the dictionary lists, ‘friendly, sympathetic, warmhearted, good, kind, interesting and gracious,’ which is an excellent description of Kate. Kate’s life was one well lived, and it is a compliment to her character to live 73 years and still be described consistently as nice.”

A celebration of Miss Bailey’s life begins with visitation on Friday evening August 29, 2014 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Everly Funeral Home – Dignity Memorial, 10565 Main Street, Fairfax, Virginia 22030 (tel. 703 385 1110) http://www.dignitymemorial.com/everly-funeral-home/en-us/index.page and continues with a Memorial Mass at 11:00 A.M. and following reception (noon) on Saturday, August 30, 2014 at St. Leo’s Catholic Church, 3700 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, Virginia 22030 (tel. 703-273-5369) http://stleofairfax.com/ . Interment at Fairfax Memorial Park at 2:00 p.m. on August 30, 2014. Contributions are welcome for St. Leo’s Church (please designate “St. Leo’s School - Kate Bailey Memorial Student Award”). Contributions are also welcome for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network http://www.purplestride.org/AboutTheCause.html .