Brinda Bailey

Our beloved mom, grandma, sister and friend, Brinda Bailey, passed away Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, while on vacation in Switzerland. Her daughters and sister were enjoying a "bucket list" trip when she succumbed due to an aneurysm.

Brinda leaves her adult daughters, Christina (grandsons, Jacob and Ethan), Alisandra and Lauren, who recall her loving encouragement as they developed their distinctive interests and academic pursuits. 

Her interests spanned art, antiquing, sewing, baking, reading and gardening.

As children, Brinda and her sister, Dana, were orphaned when their parents, Frank and Jeanne Bailey, died a few years apart. They were adopted by relatives, Gerald and Alice Janette Breese of Princeton, N.J. The Breeses took Brinda and Dana around the world and enrolled them for six months in high school in Canberra, Australia. 

Brinda graduated magna cum laude from Ohio- Wesleyan in 1974 and was honored as best research student when she received her MSW from Rutgers in 1983. As an elementary educator, she modeled her love of learning by earning a Ph.D. in Social Work Administration (Rutgers, 1995) and a M.S.Ed. in Educational Leadership (College of St. Elizabeth, 2010). She spent 15 years as an elementary guidance counselor in Mount Olive Public Schools in New Jersey, where she initiated anti-bullying curriculums and substance abuse education before retiring in 2015. Last year, she recalled, "I never knew what the day was going to bring for me. I loved that part of the job."

Brinda thrived as an athlete and fearless runner, swimmer, scuba diver and rollerblader. In high school she was on the varsity field hockey and basketball teams. She ran 5k races and half marathons through much of her adult life. In 1983, she picked up scuba diving, which took her to many exotic places around the world. In 1993, she found kayaking and, true to form, began competing seriously just two years later, winning several races. Thus, it was devastating to learn in 2016, that she had progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a fatal neurodegenerative disease. Brinda revealed unrelenting courage and inspired family and friends with her focus and faith.

During her adulthood, Brinda was an adventurous traveler who explored Caribbean and Hawaiian Islands, the U.K., Germany, Switzerland, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. Some of her favorite family holidays, however, were spent camping on Cape Cod and along the Florida coast. For 40 years, Brinda was our family genealogist who, with Dana, enjoyed many road trips through New England in pursuit of research. 

Brinda loved to laugh, especially when things were hard. She found irony in the fact that an athlete like her could be debilitated by PSP. Happiness for her was "being content with who you are and striving to be all you can be." This approach to life was infectious to others whom she inspired. She encouraged those she loved to follow their own path. Recently, while talking with dear friend Bob Anderson, she stated, in true form, "Anyone can do easy. Who can do hard?" And, when considering her own mortality, she said to Dana, "I have loved the life I've lived."

Other survivors include her sister, Adele, brother, Jay, two former husbands, Gary and Rob, ten cousins and two aunts.

A memorial service will be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 47 West Afton Ave., Yardley, Pa., with a reception to follow in the Parish Hall.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to PSP research, www.psp.org/iwanttohelp/ways-to-give/ or to St. Andrew's Church, www.standrews-yardley.org/donate.