Ralph Bailey

Funeral services for Ralph P. Bailey, 87, of Cleburne, Texas will be conducted at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 in the Rosser Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Larry Moore officiating.
A private family burial will be held in Keene Memorial Park Cemetery.
The family will receive visitors from 2 – 3 p.m. prior to the funeral service on Saturday at Rosser Funeral Home.
Dr. Bailey passed away Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014 in Keene, Texas. He was born in Ft. Sumner, New Mexico on July 25, 1926, to Ola Lee (Padon) and John Ed Bailey.
Ralph married Dorothy Patterson and they settled near Portales, New Mexico.
He proudly served his country in the United States Army during World War II and later received his Doctorate of Education from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.
A member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ralph was called by the General Conference to serve in its Eastern Africa Division office in Nairobi, Kenya.
In Dec. of 1990, after over 40 years of service, Ralph and Dorothy retired to their home near Keene.
Ralph was a member of the Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church.
He was preceded in death by his parents; first wife, Dorothy Bailey; second wife, Thelma Elkins Bailey; and two sisters, Olivene Hoover and Yvonne Morton.
Ralph Bailey is survived by his son, Dwaine Lee Bailey and life partner, Michael W. Gunning, of Dallas, Texas; daughter, Doris Ann “Dee” Bates and husband, Denton, of Haskell; grandson, Jason Lee Hall and wife, Lanesa, of Stamford, Texas; great-grandchildren, Chloe and Karsten Hall; step-sons, David Elkins of Austin, Texas and James Elkins and wife, Amy of Burleson, Texas; step-daughter, Ruth Sopha and husband, Richard, of Paradise, Calif.; step-grandchildren, Haley Elkins Tidwell and husband, Richard, Rachel Sopha, Nicholas Elkins, and Christopher Elkins; and sisters, Geraldine Phillips of Amarillo, Texas and Jonnie Lee Bietz of Chattanooga, Tenn.
Memorials may be made to Mission Hospice, 505 N. Ridgeway Dr, Ste. 173, Cleburne, TX 76033.