Lt Col Benjamin Herman Bailey Jr., USAF, Ret., 80, of Williamsburg, VA., died on Thursday, July 14, 2011, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Son of the late Dr. and Mrs. B. Herman Bailey, he was born in Richmond, Va., on Sept. 24, 1930. A graduate of John Marshall High School and The Citadel, he had a strong desire to be of service to his country, beginning a 28 year career with the United States Air Force in 1952. His tours of duty included Vietnam, England, Morocco and bases in the US from California to Maine as well as an assignment at the Citadel. He retired in 1980 as a Lieutenant Colonel with decorations which included: Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, AF Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with five Bronze Service Stars, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm, AF Outstanding Unit Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster. Following retirement from the Air Force, he served as Director of Security with Planning Research Corp., in McLean, Va. In1989 he retired again and moved to Williamsburg. He spent the last eight years of his life at Patriot’s Colony, where the caring people there became like a second family to him. Throughout his life, he was a devout Christian, involved with the church in every place he lived. A member of Williamsburg Baptist Church, he loved music and sang in the choir for many years. He enjoyed volunteering at the Colonial Williamsburg Library. He was an avid runner. His love of family and music led to harmonizing on long family car trips and three part harmony with his brothers, especially their favorite serenades, “Honey” and “Daddy’s Little Girl”. He never met a stranger. His gentle nature and dry sense of humor endeared him to all he met. Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Anne Marie Hardin Bailey; his daughters, Lynn (Rich) Saxton of Warsaw, N.Y., and Elizabeth (Greg) Bramham of Arlington, Va.; grandchildren, Laura (Will) Gardner of Fairhaven Mass., Capt. Melissa English (USAF), Okinawa, Japan and Henry Bramham, also of Arlington. He is also survived by two brothers, Dr. R. Rives (Betty) Bailey and Dean A. Bailey, both of Yorktown, Va. Visitation will be held at Nelsen Funeral Home from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 17. There will be a memorial service at Williamsburg Baptist Church, 11 a.m. Monday, July 18. Interment will be in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Williamsburg Baptist Church, 227 Richmond Rd., Williamsburg, VA 23185, and to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10018. View and post condolences on our online guestbook at dailypress.com/guestbooks. Tags: 1952
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