Robert Lewis Bailey

Robert Lewis Bailey passed away in San Antonio, Texas on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at the age of 90. Robert was born on April 10, 1927 near Chanute, Kansas, the son of Mary Elizabeth (Neely) and Robert Lynn Bailey. When his father joined the Immigration and Naturalization Service, they moved to Texas where Robert later graduated from Laredo Martin High School, Class of 1944. Robert enlisted in the U.S. Army in June 1944. As part of the Army Specialized Training Reserve Program, he was sent to Baylor University and Texas A&M University for training in Civil Engineering. He was activated August 1945 at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, sent to Camp Wolters TX, then Fort Ord CA, and then to Headquarters Company, Korea Base Command. As the Occupation of Korea was ending, he was honorably discharged in 1947 at the age of 20 as a Staff Sergeant, with duties that included Personnel Sergeant Major and First Sergeant. Upon returning to Texas, he attended the University of Texas where he met Jo Nell Ussery. They married in Luling May 28, 1949 and both graduated from UT the following year. He joined Sears Roebuck & Co. as a comptroller in 1950, and was transferred a dozen times around Texas assuming larger responsibilities with each move. Finally in 1965 while in Dallas at the Sears Southwest Regional offices, he became the Mechanization Coordinator for Sears Catalog Order responsible for computerizing the Southwest Region. His final transfer was to Chicago in 1972, after their daughter graduated from high school. Twenty years later while still with Sears in Chicago, Robert helped start Advantis, a joint venture between Sears and IBM, for voice and data networking services. When he finally retired, it was with almost 50 years combined service with Sears and IBM. The Sears Tower in Chicago (the world’s tallest building) was completed in 1973 and that is when Robert started working there. The next year, Robert and Jo Nell moved into their 62nd floor condo in the John Hancock Building (the world’s tallest building with residential space). Each day, Robert commuted round trip over 200 floors, using two buses and eight elevators. One of the family’s favorite activities was looking down on the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds during the Chicago Air Shows; or looking down to watch fireworks shows over Lake Michigan. There was always a telescope or binoculars on the window seat.
Close to retirement, Robert bought 100 non-working desktop computers (with the huge CRT monitors). Exchanging pieces and parts, he was able to construct approximately 50 working computers. He then donated these computers to non-profit organizations in the Chicago area. And, of course, he would set up all their programs and train whoever needed to use the equipment.
Robert and Jo Nell enjoyed travelling around the world, often accompanied by their daughter Lisa. Jo Nell was an elementary school teacher, so most of their trips were during summers or Christmas vacations. Many of their trips were to Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, or Central and South America, where Jo Nell and Lisa could practice their Spanish. One trip to Guatemala was cut short when they were held up and Robert was shot in the knee. They went back the next year to see what they had missed.
In 1967, Lisa got Robert interested in genealogy. He developed a program on his TRS-80 computers in the late 1970s to keep track of the Baileys, Neelys, Usserys, and Wrights. Until his health prevented it a couple of years ago, he enjoyed attending family reunions in Kansas to share his latest developments.
Robert was a Master Mason in the Grand Lodge of Texas, and a member of the Illinois CPA Society, Texas Exes, and St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church in Chicago.
When their health started to decline, Robert and Jo Nell moved back to Texas in 2009 to be close to their daughter in San Antonio. Jo Nell passed away the following year, but Robert found his niche helping with computer classes for other residents and helping the Village Gift Shop establish a bookkeeping system. A special thank you for all the love and support from his Village at Incarnate Word family, where he lived the last nine years.
Robert could do just about anything. If he didn’t know how to do something, back before the internet, he just figured it out. Most of the time, Jo Nell would send Lisa to go help him (to learn how to do it herself).
He is survived by his daughter Lisa K. Bailey; sisters-in-law Alma Bailey and Vona Ussery; nieces and nephews Barb Mikulicz (Mike), Lori Bailey, David Bailey, John Bailey (Andrea), and Ab Ussery III (Lisa); great-nieces and nephews Carla Vaccaro, Luke and Evan Bailey, and Michael and Nicole Ussery; grandcats Tessie and Scooter; and numerous cousins in Kansas.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 60 years Jo Nell (Ussery) Bailey; parents Robert Lynn and Mary Elizabeth (Neely) Bailey; brother Vernon Bailey; brother-in-law Ab Ussery Jr.; and grandcats Teddy and Grayson.
A joint memorial Service for both Robert and Jo Nell will be Saturday January 27, 2018 at 1pm in St. Joseph’s Chapel, at The Village at Incarnate Word, 4707 Broadway, San Antonio 78209 with a reception following in the Heritage Hall.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the Robert and Jo Nell Bailey Endowment for Alzheimer’s Discovery at the University of Texas Health System-San Antonio (UTHS-SA) at https://makelivesbetter.uthscsa.edu/bailey, (Office of Institutional Advancement, UT Health San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, MC 7835, San Antonio, TX 78229); or to the Village at Incarnate Word for one of their ministries.