Ronald Jeffrey Bailey age 64, born 10/20/1946, died 12/01/2010  Graham, NC Alamance Co. 27215 

    Ron, died Wednesday, December 1, 2010 at his home on 405 Eastway Lane, Graham, NC.  Tim Laverty become concerned when Ron didn't answer the phone so he called Ron's home care lady who had a house key. They went over and found Ron dead in his wheelchair. Mr. Bailey was cremated at Alamance Funeral Service in Burlington.  He was originally from Greensboro, NC, moved to Eastern NC after military service and was employed as a policeman in Elizabethtown.  He was an active player at this time in the late 70's and early 80's playing our NC tournaments.  I have records of him at the Southeastern, the 77 State, 79 State, and the 81 GAYP National tournaments.  He moved to Indianapolis, Indiana in the late 70's and won the Indiana State Championship in 83, 85, 88, 90, 91, 95 co-champ with Richard Beckwith, 2004, 2005, and finished in the top 5 multiple times during these years.  Ron suffered a severe stroke in 2001, there afterwards he was confined to a wheelchair. The last few years he lived in Indiana, Ron resided at the Indiana Veterans Home in West Lafayette.  He returned to NC in 2008 when his parents died and he and his two brothers and sister settled their estate.  Ron bought a home in Graham and visited our checker club occasionally.  He played his first tournaments since 2007 when he played the Greensboro Tourney in 2009. Ron played our State tournament in May, the Burlington in June, and GAYP National in August of that year.  He played a couple more tournaments (NC State in Siler City and the 3-Move National in Springfield, IL) in 2010 but never at the level he did in the late 90's.  It seems the highlight of his checker career was in the late 90's in Indiana when he played in the Masters Division at several Nationals back to back during those years 96, 97, and 2000.  Ron's ACF rating was 2058 in 2000. 

TheTimesNews.com
Obituary

GRAHAM - Mr. Ronald Jeffery Bailey, 64 of 405 Eastway Lane, died Dec. 1, 2010.  Alamance Funeral Service in Burlington is in charge of incomplete arrangements.

Published in TheTimesNews.com from December 7 to December 8, 2010