Bob was born July 4, 1929, at Fort Lewis, Wash., to Ray A. Bailey and Alice Jane Bentley Bailey.

Bob passed away Feb. 15, 2019, in Oak Harbor. He has lived in Coupeville since moving from Port Townsend when he was 11 years old. When he was younger, he had lived on the Boeing estate while his father was the ROTC instructor at the University of Washington.

Bob attended Coupeville schools and worked for local farmers.

He left home when he was 17, bought some property and an old house which he fixed up to live in. He started working for the Washington State Department of Highways when he was 19, where he continued until retirement in 1979. He was dedicated to maintaining his section of the highway between Coupeville and Anacortes and also worked on many other sections of the state roads in Northwest Washington.

Bob married his high school sweetheart, Marilyn Libbey, in 1949 and they raised their family of six children in several homes he built in Coupeville.

Bob was a talented builder. In addition to houses, he built several boats, repaired and built farm machinery and made hay. He raised beef cattle for many years. He enjoyed welding, woodworking, rock hounding and gardening. He won the local giant pumpkin contest two years in a row. He owned and operated a bulldozing business for several years, building roads and clearing land.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents; his daughter Susan Baas; grandson Daniel Bailey; and his brothers Ray A. Bailey Jr., Jerome Bailey and Samuel Bailey.

He is survived by his wife Marilyn; sons Russell (MaryAnne) and Robert (Nancy); and daughters Bonnie Kononen (Allen), Julia Goodman (Fredrick) and Rosie Taylor; 18 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson.

He is also survived by a sister, JoAnn Weldon of North Carolina, brother Jack A. Bailey of Coupeville and numerous nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life is 3 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at the Whidbey Island Nordic Lodge Hall, 63 Jacobs Road, Coupeville.