Obituary of Lewis Bailey

Lewis C. "Red" Bailey, 91, of Charlottesville, formerly of Hopewell, passed away on Thursday March 28, 2019. Born on June 4, 1927 in Birch Tree, Missouri, he was the son of the late Minnie Alcorn Bailey and Earl Nesbitt Bailey. He was also preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Dorothy Hotchkiss Bailey. Mr. Bailey served in the US Army from 1947 to 1957 stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia where he served in the Quartermaster Corps as a linotype operator reaching the rank of Sgt. First Class. Following his military service, he continued to work as a printer, first for the Petersburg newspaper "The Progress Index" and then for Plumber Printing also in Petersburg. He left Plumber Printing in 1974 to teach printing at Hopewell High School, retiring in 1996 after 22 years. He was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church of Hopewell, he was Scout Master of the First Baptist Church Boy Scout Troop and a member of the First Baptist Church Bowling League. Red was an avid lifelong gardener and took great delight working in his vegetable and flower gardens. If he saw a flower or plant he admired he would take a clipping and cultivate it in his garden. He was always experimenting with different growing methods in his greenhouse. He is survived by his children, Gloria B. Ascoli and her husband Mark, Thomas E. Bailey and his wife Caroline Bertrand all of Charlottesville and Janet B. Craig and her husband Dax of Ellicott City, Maryland; a sister, Celia B. Stradley of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; six grandchildren, Matthew Ascoli and his wife Helen, Amy A. Vesser and her husband Justin, Guillaume and Luc Bailey, Madison and Logan Craig; five great grandchildren, Morgan and Bryce Ascoli, Jack, Jay and Jesse Vesser and by a number of nieces and nephews. A funeral service will be conducted at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 30, 2019 in the chapel of the Memorial Funeral Home & Crematory, Gould Chapel, 214 N. 6th Avenue, Hopewell, VA 23860 with Rev. Darrell Boggs officiating. Burial will follow in Appomattox Cemetery. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.hillandwood.com