Richard "Dick" Dean Bailey, age 86, of Spooner, WI, passed away on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth, MN.

Dick was born on August 2, 1935, to Gerald and Alice Bailey (Peterson) in Hinckley, MN.

He attended school in Hinckley and was active in sports. He also played drums in the high school band and was selected to play in the All-State Band and march at Soldiers Field in Chicago. Dick also played in a dance band with several classmates.

Dick was in the Air Force from 1954-1958. He was stationed in Fairbanks, AK, and Rapid City, SD. While in Rapid City, he belonged to a church youth group and loved his time in this beautiful area. He also expressed his personality by winning a talent contest with two fellow soldiers. They did a great skit from Some Like It Hot and got to perform in a larger venue in California. Later the youth group met for reunions and he enjoyed rekindling old friendships.

Dick married Joyce Rabe on June 17, 1961, and they were married for 60 years. They lived in Blaine, MN, most of their working years. Dick spent his entire career in the carpet industry. He was artistic and had beautiful handwriting. He used his drawing skills to do posters used for sales meetings and a former boss was quoted as saying, “Where is Dick when I really need him?” In later years he took up oil painting and it gave him much enjoyment.

They belonged to Resurrection Lutheran Church in Blaine for many years and made lifelong friends who went camping together in the summer and on weekend retreats in the winter. Their two boys, Don and Dean, were active in Boy Scouts and Dick was the Boy Scout leader for several years. What great memories they had of those times.

In 1988 they started building a log cabin in Voyager Village. Their kids were now grown and they had three grandchildren who loved to come to the log house. They also joined Lakeside Community Lutheran Church in the area and began to make many new friends. Dick retired to Voyager Village when he turned 62. Joyce continued to work until 2003. From that time on, they spent six months in Voyager and six months in Sierra Vista, AZ, where they met lots of new people known as snowbirds. What a wonderful life they had together with all these different groups of people in their lives!

Dick loved to travel and was proud of getting to all 50 states. He has two vests full of patches showing all the places they visited. He got very good at sewing them on.

Dick spent the last four-plus years in the Maple Ridge Care Center. He would have rather been at home but it wasn’t an option. He grew fond of his many caregivers and we were blessed to have a place that took such good care of him. Dick had a quick wit and enjoyed bantering with all his caregivers right to the end. He was quite competitive with his bingo games and had his own special card with his name on it. He won one last game of bingo shortly before he left for the hospital!

Dick is survived by his wife of 60 years, Joyce; sons Donald (Dede) and Dean (Kris); grandchildren, Rick (Jess), Jenny, and Joe (Heather); brother-in-law, David Anderson; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Dick was preceded in death by his parents, Gerald and Alice Bailey; his infant brother, Donald Eugene; and his sisters, Lois Parson and Ruth Ann Anderson.

Funeral service will be on Monday, September 13, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at Lakeside Community Lutheran Church, 28626 County Road H, Webster, WI 54893. Visitation will be from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the church.

Last Update: Aug 31, 2021 12:31 pm CDT