from staff
Former Financial News & Daily Record Publisher James Franklin Bailey Sr., known affectionately as "Papa" to his devoted and beloved family, died Friday at the age of 85.
Mr. Bailey, born Sept. 10, 1924, passed away at the Earl B. Hadlow Center for Caring at Community Hospice of Northeast Florida.
"He was a take-charge man who sought perfection in everything he undertook," said his family in a statement.
"He gave generously of his time and talents to every organization he was involved in. He was a loyal and devoted friend to many."
"It is a great sadness and tremendous loss for me personally," said his son, Financial News & Daily Record Publisher James F. Bailey Jr.
"He taught me how to treat people, how to take care of family, how to treat customers, how to give back to a community he loved. He taught me how to be a man and more importantly, no matter what it was, he taught me, if it was important enough to you, you can make it happen," said Bailey.
Mr. Bailey’s life will be celebrated with a memorial service at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25, at the Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home Chapel, 4115 Hendricks Ave., with burial at Oaklawn Cemetery.
Pastor Kyle Reese of Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church will officiate.
Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Earl B. Hadlow Center for Caring at Community Hospice along Sunbeam Road.
Former Mayor Jake Godbold said he thought a lot of Mr. Bailey.
“He was a good businessman, a wonderful personality and he was always pleasant and considerate of others,” said Godbold.
“He had an outgoing personality and was really a straight shooter,” said Godbold.
Mr. Bailey was born to Evelena Maude South and Andrew Virgil Bailey in the Red Hill community near Carnesville, Ga., where he grew up. He was the third of four children and grew up with two sisters and one brother.
Mr. Bailey married the former Doris McManus of Jacksonville and they raised three children, Kay, Patsy and James Jr., who succeeded his father in 1975 as publisher of the Financial News & Daily Record.
Mr. Bailey is survived by his wife and children and their spouses, along with 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and two sisters.
Survivors include Kay Bailey West and her husband, Wayne J. West, of Byromville, Ga., and their children, Deidra Smith (Taylor) and Erin Kovacs (Wade); Patsy Bailey Provine of Miramar Beach, and her children, Scott Work, Natalie Work and Bailey Provine; and Jim Bailey and his wife, Donna Rowe Bailey, of Jacksonville, and their children, Christina Kimmel (Sean), Melissa Cheezum (Kevin), Jennifer Bailey, Jessica Bailey, Casey Bailey and Emily Bailey.
Mr. Bailey also is survived by his sisters, Margaret Bailey Conwell of Anderson, S.C., and Mary Nell Bailey Whiten of Royston, Ga. He was predeceased by his brother, John.
Mr. Bailey attended Franklin County High School in Carnesville, and graduated from Piedmont College in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He served in the U.S. Navy.
Mr. Bailey taught chemistry at school in Whitehouse and also worked as a pharmaceutical representative and as publisher of the Daily Record, which was founded by his father-in-law, John Hall McManus, in 1912 in Downtown Jacksonville.
“Due to health reasons, he retired in the late ‘70s, so I didn’t get to work with him very long. But seeing him enjoy life with my mother, my sisters and his grandchildren brought me great joy. I knew he was always there for me,” said his son.
The family says Mr. Bailey was devoted to his wife and his family.
“You rarely saw him without ‘Mimi,’ his wife of more than 60 years, even on the golf course,” said the family. “He loved to travel, especially with his grandchildren.”
Mr. Bailey especially enjoyed his summers spent at the Wolf Laurel Country Club, in Mars Hill, N.C., of which he was a founding member.
Mr. Bailey was an avid golfer and enjoyed boating, woodworking, beekeeping and travel. “He was a loyal and devoted friend to many,” said the family.
Mr. Bailey was a strong supporter of Downtown and of Jacksonville’s business community, maintaining the Financial News & Daily Record at Bay and Newnan streets.
“Jim Bailey Sr. was an engaging person. When I wanted to know how to do something in Jacksonville, I asked him,” said attorney Bill Basford, a former State Representative and City Council member.
“His knowledge of the community would be very helpful to anyone coming into the business or legal communities. He knew the business, he knew the town, he knew the judges and he knew the politics. He’s the kind of person you wanted to know when you came here,” said Basford
Mr. Bailey also was remembered for his helpfulness to young people.
Attorney Jeff Ludwig said he worked for Mr. Bailey for two summers.
“He taught me how to write a check. You don’t know how to do that as a kid, and, now, every time I write a check, I remember him teaching me.” said Ludwig.
“He was, without question, one of the significant mentors in my life,” he said.
“He was always a friend of The Jacksonville Bar Association,” said Jim Ade, The Jacksonville Bar Association president in 1968-69.
Bailey Jr. recalled that “we were so often called the Bailey Boys or Bailey Brothers. I couldn’t have been more proud when I would hear that.”
“Through this process, I am getting to relive stories by so many of my friends who he had contact with. I always thought the way he was with everyone was normal. I’m finding from so many that he was far from normal. He always went beyond to treat everyone special,” he said.
“My teenage friends are telling me about encounters they had with him. None surprise me. If you made a mistake he would share his concern, then rib, kid and tease you until you felt so good.”
The Financial News & Daily Record is a general circulation newspaper in Duval County.
It is now a division of the parent company, Bailey Publishing & Communications Inc., which also publishes the “REALTY/BUILDER Connection,” a monthly publication for the real estate and building industries in North Florida, and “Golf News,” an online publication available at www.golfnewsjax.com.
The company also operates a commercial printing division, Design Printing & Imaging.
“I’ll miss him and I wish his family the best,” said Godbold. “He was a real gentleman.”
Bailey Jr said that “after my grandfather, dad worked for almost 30 years, I have had the opportunity to lead the company for 35 more.
“Not many businesses survive this long. It takes a combination of leadership, teamwork and hard work. He taught me how to maximize all three to get results,” said Bailey.
“For almost 100 years, only three people have had the pleasure of running this company. All three of us knew the key ingredient of any successful business are the people you work with. The families I work with today are the backbone of this company. I am comforted greatly knowing they are here.”