BAILEY

July 1, 1944

March 31, 2016

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Warren Bailey, MD. Dr. Bailey performed the congenital heart surgery for the infants, children and adults in the greater Cincinnati and Dayton for many years (1982-1996). Warren was born in Ketchikan, Alaska, raised in Petersburg, Alaska. Education: Montana State University B.S.,1996, Tufts University School of Medicine, M.D., 1970, Residency: Pediatrics - Tufts- New England Medical Center Boston, Mass 1970-72, General Surgery- University of Alabama Hospitals, Birmingham 1972-77, - Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - University of Alabama Hospitals, Birmingham, Alabama 1977-79. Dr. Bailey performed adult and pediatric congenital cardiac surgery in Seattle, Washington and Cincinnati, Ohio. He was appointed Chief, Division of Pediatric Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 1982-1986. Warren retired to British Columbia where he was a well known activist and benefactor of community services and environmental concerns in the Qualicum Beach, Port Alberni and Nanoose Bay areas. One of Warren's greatest joys was sharing his passion for golf, salmon fishing on "Island Dreamer" and fly fishing with friends and family. Warren was doing what he loved, fly fishing with a friend on a beautiful sunny day on the Taylor River near Port Alberni, B.C., when he lost his footing and was overcome by the cold current. Warren was a brilliant, generous, creative, gentle man with a wonderful sense of humor. A raconteur and accomplished cook, his friends and family will miss his original stories, often accompanied by a sumptuous meal. A compassionate family man, Warren is predeceased by his parents Dr. Warren W. and Ann Bailey and sister Norma Jean Bailey all of Petersburg; mother in law Helen Wilkinson of Cincinnati, OH; sister in law Sue Benzing of Fairmont, IL and brother in law Larry Bogle, Cincinnati, OH. Warren is survived by his wife Sandy of Qualicum Beach, B.C., and children Geoff (Lucy) Bailey of Brooklyn, N.Y., Joey (Caroline) Benton of Summerville, S.C., Jeannie (Jason) Schmidlapp of Campbell, CA; his grandchildren Joseph Schmidlapp of Cincinnati, OH, Ivy and Ruby Schmidlapp, and Joey and Keegan Benton as well as siblings Lynn (Fred) Cadle of Evans, GA; Carol (Jim) Macmillan of Blaine, WA; Norman (Denise) Bailey of Poulsbo, WA; sister in lawsKay Bogle of Cincinnati,OH; Donna (Jim) Reiman, Brookpark,OH; brother in laws Matt Wilkinson of Liberty, KY and Bill Benzing of Fairmont, IL and many nephew and nieces. A celebration of Warren's Life was held at Yates Funeral Home, Parksville, BC V9P 2A9, Canada on April 24, 2016 at 1 p.m. It is requested that donations in memory of Dr. Bailey be made directly to the Petersburg Public Library, P.O. Box 930, Petersburg, AK 99833 or to a charity of your choice.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Cincinnati Enquirer on May 29, 2016.

Memories and Condolences
for Warren Bailey

23 Entries

James A Savage, M.D.

May 23, 2025

Saved my little girl's life!

Erma Parker

February 2, 2024

Rest in peace Dr. Bailey. I'm forever grateful to you for saving my sons life in 1987. I think of you often.

Erma Parker
Grateful mom

Pamela Kitchell

February 1, 2024

I just came across this information. I will forever be thankful for Dr. Bailey. He did surgery, while at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, on my daughter at the age of 2 months old, and repaired her heart. She is now 33 years old and continues to get good reports every time her heart is checked. Sad to hear that he had passed but happy to hear that he was doing something that he loved when he did pass.

Erma Parker

May 24, 2023

I will never forget the man who saved my first born child's life. He will be 36 this year. May Dr. Bailey rest in peace.

[email protected]

May 23, 2023

I had no idea! I just found my paperwork before epic, I'm a couple years late but he did save my life a couple times

Jim, Mary and Emily Savage

July 22, 2021

We just now saw this notice. It would not be an exaggeration to say that our 26 year old daughter, Emily, is alive because of the wonderful care provided by Dr. Bailey and his team. We had to travel across the country to find him and thank God we did. I was able to give him a Tiger Woods autograph several years later but this did not remotely repay our debt to him but I hope it helped him understand how he influenced our lives. I am a physician and I can only hope that I am as good to my patients as Dr. Bailey was to us. May he rest in peace.

Michael E Garrett

May 23, 2021

Never forgotten...saved so many babies. RIP

Michael E G

February 1, 2021

Some people I never forget
and Dr. Bailey is in that special group.
So often, we remember those who have passed before us with tenderness, sorrow, and mourning at the time of their passing.
Though the context is that of one remembering his own life and love one, a song by John Prine, 'I Remember Everything' comes to mind.
Warren, I'll never forget you.

greatest respect, Michael E G

Planted Trees

Erma Parker

January 31, 2021

Dr. Bailey crossed my mind today as he has many times through the years. He saved my first born sons life in 1987. I was saddened to read of his passing. I will forever be grateful to him for saving my sons life.

Michael E Garrett

May 24, 2020

I had previously read of Warren passing shortly after the accident. I wrote then and I write now.
Warren was an exceptional person in many ways. His sense of humor was subtle, and would take me by surprise. It would make me think, did he just make a joke?
I enjoyed working with him so much because he was soft spoken. He never raised his voice. His skills in surgery were ' guided by God'. I believe that. His knowledge guided him through amazing surgical challenges with miraculous success.
I miss him.
He passed away just 4 months before my Mother. I keep them both close in my heart. And Warren will always be in my thoughts.

Kacey Claypoole

September 20, 2019

I'm loving memory of Dr.Bailey

Wendy O'Brien

July 22, 2019

Thank you for saving our now 30 year old baby's life.

Cindy (Hile) Eisert

March 28, 2018

It is with deep sadness I read that Dr. Bailey had passed on. I was his PA, first assistant for 5 years. He was the best boss I ever had. His compassion and skill were second to none. All his patients and relatives should know they could not have been in better hands. I'm glad he was fly fishing when he left us. RIP Dr. Bailey.

March 27, 2018

Dr. Warren Bailey operated on our angel in 1994. His presence and team were second to none. Dr. Bailey took control of the room and everyone listened. His direct approach was appreciated by the parents of his patients even if the patient was a 4 month old. I am most certain Dr. Bailey gave his all but it was not meant to be for our son. I can only hope that Dr. Bailey and my son are fly fishing on the other side. Dr. Bailey will be forever in our hearts! God Bless the Bailey Family on the loss of a tremendous man!

Christmas at Disney 2016

Nora & Greg Hickman

January 13, 2017

I was preparing to show my daughter the information about the wonderful surgeon that God used to create a miracle by saving our her life. I don't know if anyone will read this, I don't know if it will actually mean anything to you as you have probably heard this so many many times before. After having a completely healthy pregnancy I gave birth to a baby girl. At that time we lived in a rural town and the doctor on staff, thankfully, had performed his residency at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. This was not a fluke nor an accident we believe but it was truly the providential direction of God. I say this because he immediately knew something was not right and within three days transferred our daughter to Cincinnati children's hospital to be checked out. At first it was thought she had fluid in her longs due to being born by cesarean section; however, it was quickly discovered that was not the case. Lindsay was born with a hole in the upper chamber, a hole in the lower chamber, transposition of the great vessels, and a complete aortic arch interruption. After it was determined all the things that were wrong, doctors talked about it and thought that she might require numerous surgeries. Then in came Dr. Bailey on the floor followed by a whole host of other doctors in white coats. He was rather direct and to the point in his conversation with us explaining that he would perform the surgery that Lindsay needed and he would do it in one surgery. He told us that she had a 60% chance of living but that if she lived there was also a great chance that her abilities and cognitive awareness would not be good. Of course being the young 20 something mother that I was and not experienced in the medical community or profession, I wanted to have a conversation with Dr. Bailey in more detail and also talk about the situation with another doctor to be sure that this was the best course of action. However, soon after this conversation with Dr. Bailey a lady came in and explained me that Dr. Bailey was the only person that would even give Lindsay hope and that he was the one that most textbooks were being written about teaching young interns exactly how to perform these challenging surgeries on tiny babies. So, we waited, and we prayed, and we prayed a lot. We prayed for this great courageous surgeon and his team and we prayed for our baby. It wasn't just my family praying it was our Town because Lindsay had been featured in a local newspaper with request for prayer; it wasn't just our town that was praying it was large companies of people that somehow had heard about our daughter--one was the Coca-Cola Company in Cincinnati and others. The surgery was a huge success--basically at the time when Dr. Bailey came out to talk to us it was a huge success because she lived through it so far. A few months later we got to leave the Ronald McDonald house and take our daughter to our home. Upon returning one day to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for an appointment with another doctor my husband and I visited Dr. Bailey's office. We were walking through the halls looking for his office carrying a flyrod fishing pole and some other gifts for him because we had wanted to give him something, even something small, for this great thing that he had done. We really weren't sure how he would receive the gift because he was a very important and busy, direct person; however, he was very touched we could tell and took time to talk to us and receive the gifts and talk about our daughter. I am sharing this with you only because I have lost people close to me as well in my life, and when someone cares enough to share a memory it is very special to me. Our daughter is approaching her 25th birthday, she is graduating from college with a 3.97 GPA, she has had some bumps in the road on the way to this point in her life physically, and as Dr. Bailey told us she will never run a marathon but she grew up being able to run and play with children, ride a bicycle, laugh, and have a unique quality of life that was never imagined for her even if she survived the surgery. Doctors in every place that she has never been have been completely amazed at what they hear when they listen to her heart and they listen to her story because they said her physical wellness just should not be possible 25 years ago. I cannot begin to imagine the great sacrifices your family has made over the years for Dr. Bailey to be this great surgeon on the cutting edge of helping babies. But, I would just want to take this time to tell you thank you from the very depths of my heart because our daughter means the world to us and has enriched so many other peoples lives. Please excuse the length of this entry, but I really couldn't just tell a sentence or two because all of Lindsay's life she has been called the miracle child and I am sure that she is not the only one of Dr. Bailey's successes. I am deeply sorry for your loss because I feel absolutely sure that he was a very great man with a very kind and giving heart. My familiy's prayers will include your family that you may find comfort and peace during this very challenging time. May God bless you.

Michael Garrett

August 8, 2016

"There are things in life we don't want to happen, but have to accept; Things we don't want to know, but have to learn, And people we can't live without, but have to let go." - Author Unknown
I pray that God gives the Family the strength needed to get through such difficult times, and the blessings of all the happy memories Warren brought to their lives.
I was graced with the privilege to have worked with Dr. Bailey as an RN in surgery at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. I enjoyed the subtleties of his sense of humor. He was, without doubt, exceptional in his profession.

Jenny Jeffries

July 26, 2016

Sandy, my deepest sympathies to you in your time of grief,
Jenny

Jenny Jeffries

July 26, 2016

My sincere sympathy to Caroline and the rest of Warren's family.

June 8, 2016

Offering my sincere condolences to the Family, may you find comfort from the encouraging words found at 1 Thessalonians 4:14

E Campbell

May 30, 2016

May the Father of tender mercies comfort you at this sad time. My deepest sympathy to the family.

Christine O'Brien

May 29, 2016

So, sorry to hear of Dr. Bailey's sudden passing. He performed my open heart surgery in 1986 at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. I remember him as a kind and brilliant man and because of him I am still living a good life. My sincerest condolences to the Bailey family.
Dr. Bailey will be forever in my heart.
Christine (Brock) O'Brien

John Patterson

May 28, 2016

I worked with Dr. Bailey at UCMC in the mid-80's. I was a Clinical Perfusionist and truly enjoyed the many hours in the operating room that I had the privilege to spent with Dr. Bailey. He was a very gifted surgeon, always in control and respected the open heart team, and was respected by that team. It was good to read he was able to enjoy his retirement and his last moments were spent fly fishing.

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