The cliché of being larger than life was no cliché when it came to Dr. Bobbie Bailey. She led by example, living a life of generosity and caring. Mary Bobbie Bailey, whose innovative business acumen and philanthropy were integral in supporting dozens of charitable organizations in the Atlanta area, died Saturday, July 25. 2015. The Ansley Park resident was 87. Born in Randolph County, Ala., and raised in LaGrange, Ga., and Atlanta, she was the third of eight children and never forgot her humble Southern roots. Dr. Bailey began tuning racecars when she was 12 years old, an interest that would lead her to discover her special gift for mechanics. During World War II, she began working for a company that refabricated refrigeration compressors, ultimately leading her in1960 to start her own company, Our-Way, Inc., rare for a woman at that time. She would serve as its sole owner and CEO for more than 50 years. Her company grew steadily, bringing in more than $45 million in annual sales, with more than 350 employees. In 1983, Our-Way was recognized by Business Atlanta as one of the "Top 100 Companies." In 2001, she sold the successful company to Carrier Corporation. She started three other businesses in 1987: Entertainment Resources Services (a mail order distribution company), Bailey Design Company (a residential construction company), and Southernaire Realty Company (a real estate holding company). Her interests were varied and went well beyond her long track record of success in starting and running businesses. Her adventurous spirit and love of a challenge led her to become a member of the Greenland Expedition Society, which launched seven expeditions to Greenland and recovered the "Lost Squadron." In 1989, Dr. Bailey and her Our-Way team designed, fabricated and packaged the probes, casing, drilling shaft and keyhole saws that successfully retrieved pieces of the B-17 pathfinder and, three years later, brought up an intact P-38 from 265 feet below the frozen surface. In June 2007, the newly dubbed "Glacier Girl" actually flew to Europe via Greenland to complete her 1942 World War II mission. Dr. Bailey was also an avid music lover. She became a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 1980. In addition, she produced records on her own RX-Melody and Southernaire labels and continued to serve as the president of the Friends of Georgia Music Festival, Inc., and was executive producer of the annual Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards shows for the past 37 years. She herself was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2007. Dr. Bailey generously supported music education throughout the area through the establishment of music scholarships at Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University. In 2007, she endowed the naming of the 624-seat Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center at Kennesaw State and her subsequent gift of 44 Steinway pianos to enable KSU's School of Music to earn the prestigious distinction of an All-Steinway School. Dr. Bailey's interest in and giving at KSU was not restricted to music. From 1960 to 1980, she managed the Lorelei Ladies, an all-women's fastpitch softball team that played throughout the nation and won national championships several years in a row. Then, in 1991, her passion for women's sports led her to establish women's athletic scholarships at KSU and to endow an athletic facility The Bobbie Bailey Athletic Complex, which was dedicated in 2005. Dr. Bailey served on the Kennesaw State University Foundation Board of Trustees for more than 22 years. The University acknowledged her lifetime achievements and philanthropy by awarding her the Doctor of Humane Letters in 1998. Her dedication to community also included the support of DeKalb Medical, where she funded several major projects for the purchase of state-of-the-art medical equipment. Dr. Bailey's large gifts were recognized by the naming of the diagnostic imaging center for Dr. Bailey and her sister, Audrey B. Morgan, and the Dr. Bobbie Bailey Tower, which also houses the surgery and women's center. She also gave major gifts to the DeKalb Medical Foundation to purchase or upgrade equipment or resources needed to continue improving healthcare for years to come. A large portion of Dr. Bailey's life was spent in strengthening the civic and non-profit community in Atlanta and throughout Georgia. She served on numerous boards and committees, including the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Committee, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Bank of America Advisory Board, the Atlanta Union Mission, CIS Biotech Board, Chairman of Decatur First Bank and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame Authority. In 2012, she was presented the inaugural Global Philanthropist Award by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Among the words loved ones used to describe Dr. Bailey were adventurous, generous, innovative, iconoclastic, fearless, driven, inspiring, compassionate, progressive, scrupulously fair, honest, sentimental, and strong-willed. A unique mix of straightforwardness and extreme generosity were considered by many to be Dr. Bailey's hallmark. It was a combination she valued and an approach she relished, a combination by which many will remember her. She leaves behind a legacy that will continue to touch many in Fulton, DeKalb and Cobb Counties, and beyond.
She is preceded in death by her parents Mary Proctor Bailey and Elbert Leon Bailey and siblings William Leon Bailey, Margaret Bailey Robinson, Roy Terrell Bailey, Floyd Lee Bailey and Arnold Ray Bailey. She is survived by two sisters, and several nieces and nephews.