Myron Edgar Bailey
08/29/1939 - 02/18/2024
Myron Edgar Bailey, known as Ed to his family and friends, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, the 18th of February 2024. He was 84 years old.
Ed was born on the 29th of August 1939 in Houston. He attended Lamar High School, where he was an avid basketball player and Eagle Scout, as well as a National Merit Scholar. Ed graduated from Rice University and, upon graduation, went to work for TRW on the NASA Apollo program before starting a construction and development company in the Galveston Bay Area, developing projects for Grumman Aerospace Corporation and NASA, in addition to many state and commercial development projects.
Ed was a renaissance man who turned his hand to many things throughout his life, fixing and solving problems and using his extensive carpentry skills. As a longtime member of Lakewood Yacht Club, Ed was an avid sailor who raced extensively during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1987, Ed was one of the three founders of the Harvest Moon Regatta, an overnight race from Galveston to Port Aransas under the light of a harvest moon, which became and still is an iconic race for all levels of sailors. Ed also holds the record for the Regatta de Amigos race from Galveston to Veracruz, Mexico; his daughter Kitty Bailey was a member of the crew. The race is not held anymore, so his record will forever stand!
Ed and Barbara later moved to New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where they lived for 20 years and made many wonderful memories and lifelong friends. During this time, they sailed extensively and spent their time renovating older properties before moving back to San Antonio, Texas, to develop federal medical clinics. After fully retiring, Ed and Barbara made their way back to Houston in 2021 to spend more time with family and friends. Ed was proud of all of his daughters' accomplishments in life and truly cherished watching each of them achieve her own success.
The final years of Ed's life were spent with Barbara, back in his old stomping grounds around Houston, hanging out at Lakewood Yacht Club with friends and attending his grandchildren's school and sporting events. Weekends were spent at Bailey's lacrosse games and Ali's Post Oak Pee-Wee baseball games, which he always said were more fun to watch than the Astros.
Ed is survived by his adoring wife of 32 years, Barbara Weeks Bailey, and his five daughters: Kelley Bailey; Kitty Bailey and her wife, Angeles Dueñas; Monica Bailey Bickers, her husband, Curtis, and their daughters, Bailey and Ali; Alissa Bailey; and Stephanie Bailey. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Cross, her husband, Douglass, and their children and grandchildren; and nieces Rachel Hoffman and Jan Dickhaner, Jan's husband, Harry, and their children and grandchildren. Ed is preceded in death by his parents, Myron Lee Bailey and Mary Sue McCoy Bailey; his sister, Mary Lee Bailey Lesko; his niece, Susan Lesko Sandeman; and his nephew, Michael Lesko.
Ed will be missed dearly by his family and all his friends who knew him well. Ed always reminded everyone, whether over a prayer or a toast, how truly lucky he was to have such a wonderful life filled with family and friends.
A memorial service is to be conducted at two o'clock in the afternoon on Thursday, the 29th of February, in the sanctuary of St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston. Immediately following all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the Bagby Parish Hall.
In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed to St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road, Houston, TX 77056 or to the Houston Humane Society, 14700 Almeda Road, Houston, TX 77053.
Please visit Mr. Bailey's online memorial tribute at GeoHLewis.com where fond memories and words of comfort and condolence may be shared electronically with his family.