Ilene Faye Bailey

Ilene was born Ilene Faye Forrester on May 29, 1920 in Bowie, Arizona. She was the first child born to Bertha and Fred Forrester. The family had its share of difficulties living through the great depression but Ilene always said that she never ever remembered being hungry. They moved around a lot when Ilene was small, but settled in a small town in Arkansas - Atkins. She went through school there and made lifelong friends who remain friends to this day. Three more children were born quickly - first a sister Nova Jane who died at eighteen months, then a brother, Kenneth and another brother J.C. In Atkins they all lived next door to Ilene's grandmother and grandfather, J.N. and Savannah O'Neal. J.N. and Savannah had nine kids, so Ilene grew up with a huge extended family all over northern Arkansas. Her grandfather was a Primitive Baptist preacher so she had her share of religion. He invited the whole congregation home for lunch pretty much every Sunday and Ilene's grandmother cooked for them. Fresh chicken, collard greens, grits and whatever the family garden was producing at the moment. Ilene was in love with a boy named Harry but that didn't work out. When Ilene was 20, she got a job working at the army base in north Little Rock, Arkansas. There she met the man she would marry, Roger Bailey. He was seeing a girl named Pauline at the time but Ilene swept Roger off his feet. They married in the summer of 1942, had a few blissful months together and then Roger had to leave for Europe and serve his country in World War II. He was one of the ones who made it back and he and Ilene settled down to the business of a family. They were unable after years of trying to have a child of their own, so they decided to adopt. That was when Angela entered their lives. Ilene liked to describe the day they got their baby as the happiest day of her life. She doted on the baby and was a devoted mother, raising Angela in the southern Baptist faith much like herself. When Angela was 16 she moved to the Free Methodist Church and Ilene moved also and was a faithful member of the congregation until she was unable to attend services any more. It was a very rare Sunday when Ilene didn't make it to both Sunday school and church, but she especially loved Easter and Mother's Day and seeing everyone dressed up in their holiday best. In 1987 Ilene's only grandchild, Megan, was born. Ilene liked to talk about how much prettier Megan was than Angela had been and she was as doting a grandmother as she had been a mother. In 2002 Ilene moved to Denver, Colorado to be closer to Angela, Megan and her son-in-law Dan. She liked the place where she lived and liked to say that it was the nicest place she had ever lived. She had always loved the mountains and she had mountain views there that were unbelievable. And she thought that Dan was the best son anybody could ever have and loved the way he could always make her laugh. Ilene loved to garden. Her roses and hydrangeas were her favorites. Her roses were VERY well fed, as she would feed them egg shells, banana peels and coffee grounds every morning after breakfast. When Angela was very small, a well-meaning neighbor gave her a blue parakeet named Kelly Bird. The bird lived for NINE YEARS under Ilene's diligent care. When the bird died, Ilene and Angela were as broken up as if it had been the death of a family member. Ilene was a huge supporter of the VFW and other veterans groups. She said that they helped her, her husband, her father and her grandfather with their experiences with and after the wars. Please share your memories of Ilene and condolences with her family by selecting the ""Sign Guestbook"" link.