George Bailey

SNELLVILLE, GA -- George Wesley Bailey, 90, passed away on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at home in Snellville, Georgia, where he lived with his daughter and son-in-law.

George was born on April 4, 1935, in Wallingford, Kentucky, to Claude Preston Bailey and Oleta Hamilton Bailey; the family moved to Ohio when he was a baby. Voted the Most Popular Boy his senior year in high school, he graduated from Lima Central High School in 1953, Bluffton College in 1957, and the Dayton Theological Seminary in 1961. He served as the pastor of the EUB Church in Wren, Ohio, from 1961-1965, associate pastor of Calvary Bible Church in Lima, Ohio, from 1965-1967, and pastor of the Auglaize Bible Church in Harrod, Ohio, from 1967-1988. In 1988 he accepted the position of Bible professor at the Bible Institute of Ohio in Columbus, Ohio, which he maintained until 2010. He spent the next decade or so supporting local churches and various mission works.

George married Judith Mae Lora in 1956, and she predeceased him in October 2012. He is survived by their two children, Mark W. Bailey of Streetsboro, Ohio, and Catherine B. Thacker of Snellville, Georgia; six grandchildren, A. J. Thacker, Matthew Bailey, Neal Thacker, Nathan Bailey, Leah Bailey, Emma Thacker; and two great-grandchildren, Victoria Bailey and Eliana Thacker.

George would often say that football changed his life. At the start of his senior year, their quarterback was slugged by an opposing player, which resulted in a concussion. That scared George into going to church, and he started attending the High Street EUB Church in Lima, pastored by Frank Hamblen. In the spring of 1953, George accepted Jesus as his Savior, and shortly after he answered God's call to the ministry. George was a founding member of the Ohio Bible Fellowship, where he served in many different leadership positions for the group, including president. He was the Junior II Camp Director for many years at the Peniel Bible Camp in Fredericktown, Ohio, and he served on the mission board of Gospel Fellowship Association in Greenville, South Carolina. He loved God and country and was proud to be a Buckeye.

Family and friends may call at Chiles-Laman Funeral & Cremation Services, 1170 Shawnee Road, Lima, Ohio, on Friday, October 17, from 5:00-7:00 pm, and Saturday, October 18, from 9:00-10:30 am. The funeral service will be held afterward at 10:30 am by Pastor Paul Hamilton of Westerville Bible Church, where George was a member.

Condolences may be expressed at chiles-lamanfh.com.