LONGVIEW- Lloyd "Dale" Bailey passed away at 85 on July 12, 2025, surrounded by his family. He was born in Longview on October 14, 1939, the last of eight children of Ray and Martha (Juhls) Bailey. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers Maurice, Lester, Duane and Melvin and his sister Ilene.
He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Rosemary; two sons Terry (Shari) in Longview and Brian in Portland; a grandson, Hunter in Portland and granddaughter Renee in Seattle; two sisters, Phyllis Dahlquist in Centralia and Jean Davolt in Kelso, a sister-in law Janis Pluss (Eddie) in Denver and numerous nieces and nephews.
He attended Longview schools and earned a GED while living in Portland. He was a log scaler for Weyerhaeuser in Longview and retired in 2001 after 34 years.
Whether it was motocross racing with his sons, running a marathon, cross country skiing or long-distance bicycle touring in the Pacific NW, the Canadian Rockies and Southern China Dale thrived on athletics and competitive play. During his last years he played racquetball with "The Zipper Boys" (they all had had bypass surgery) and continued playing pickle ball until a year before he passed away. He and his wife were members of Harlequin and enjoyed ball room dancing. He was a good sport in every aspect of his life.
He and Rosemary were adventurous souls who toured Europe by train and car, saw China by bus, plane and train from Beijing to the Karakoram Mountains venturing into the Indus Valley of Pakistan. Together they visited Cuba and crisscrossed the United States and Canada in their travel trailer.
While adventure and travel fed his genuine curiosity about the world around him, Dale's real passion was woodworking. Most people look at trees and see branches and leaves, but Dale saw furniture and boats. The furniture he built is cherished by his family and admired by other woodworkers. His superb craftsmanship and attention to design and detail made his boats functional works of art.
His first boat was a cedar strip Cosine Wherry rowboat. He named it the "Martha Juhls", for his mother, and when it was finished, he put it on a trailer and brought it to the cemetery to show his dad. He went on to build a canoe, two small sail boats and a small rowboat for his granddaughter. He and Rosemary spent many hours rowing, canoeing and sailing in the waters of the Pacific NW, and the hours he spent rowing on Lake Sacajawea with his granddaughter in her "Strawberry" was a part of the everlasting bond between them.
His masterpiece was a 22' Jiffy V-22, a modified Maine lobster boat that Dale built out of plywood on an oak frame with his own design for enclosing the cabin for cruising in Pacific NW waters. Each stage required him to learn and apply new skills to his boatbuilding techniques and after four years he launched the "RoseDale" on the Columbia River. With only one inch of vertical clearance getting the boat out of the shop required a final stroke of ingenuity and know how. Dale's solution was sliding it out on banana peels and, of course, making banana bread for the christening. When the boat was at full throttle Dale's smile was as wide as the river and his satisfaction was palpable.
Dale was "the comeback kid" who conquered multiple emotional and physical challenges during his life, but his dementia diagnosis was unbeatable. When he could no longer live safely at home he moved to Canterbury Gardens. Even with his failing health he tried valiantly to adjust to his new surroundings and remained his modest self and forever a gentleman.
During his brief stay at Canterbury he and Rosemary shared one last adventure, reading books together. The two of them learned about stars, bird migrations and the lives of whales in the lavishly illustrated children's books they both enjoyed.
The family thanks Canterbury Gardens and Peace Health Hospice for their expert care of Dale in the last months of his life.
He is loved, and he is missed. A celebration of life is being planned for January 10, 2026, from 1-3PM at the Rose Center for the Performing Arts on the LCC campus.