Bailey (1944-2023), Pierce College Media Arts

Julie Dawn Bailey held many roles over the course of her career at Pierce College, from an aspiring journalism student, to type setter, ad manager, department office manager and, perhaps most importantly, a mentor.

Bailey died on March 14 in the hospital due to medical complications. Her only child and daughter Sonya Bailey was by her side.

Former journalism student Gil Riego recounted his first impression of Bailey.

“I remember walking into the classroom and thinking, look at this eccentric British lady,” Riego said.

Riego mentioned how Bailey would be present for students, intuitively knowing when they were in need of guidance. Her comforting demeanor allowed for them to have a built-in support system on campus.

“She was a rock, the biggest constant for the newsroom,” Riego said. “Her words of encouragement always carried on. She always believed in the students, department and faculty, giving us the push to keep going.”

Adjunct professor of photography Sean

McDonald remembers his time working with Bailey.

“She was the glue that held the department together for a long time,” McDonald said.

Bailey was born at the tail end of WWII in England to Royal Air Force Officer Albert Bailey and his wife Ann Bailey. She was an only child.

Bailey made the decision to move to the United States in the 1960s at 19-years-old. Deciding to settle in California, a huge cultural shift from the UK, Bailey was enticed by the prospect of new opportunities.

Bailey worked many jobs, before deciding to focus on her role as mother to her daughter Sonya.

“She moved around a lot. In terms of ventures and education and business, she tried a lot of things,” Sonya Bailey said.

Bailey pursued higher education and enrolled at Los Angeles Valley College. She studied journalism and worked on the school paper. After attaining her associate degree from Valley College, she followed in the footsteps of her former professor Rob O’Neil, leading to her more than two-decade position at Pierce College from 1993 to 2015.

O'Neil praised Bailey's ability to be on top of tasks.

“She became a type setter, office manager and a confidant to dozens of aspiring student journalists,” O’Neil said. “She was just all things to everybody, a great business person, efficient in advertising, she looked after everything. She really was a jack-of-all-trades.”

O’Neil depicted Bailey’s character as someone who was capable of the most intense tasks.

“In short, she was a fixer, a person who completed the job no matter what it took. There just wasn't anything she couldn't do,” O’Neil said.

Bailey took great pride in her Catholic faith.

“She used to be a hardcore atheist, and it was almost a little miracle that she was baptized as a Catholic. No one really saw that coming,” Sonya Bailey said. Sonya Bailey admired her mother's creativity and intelligence.

“She began exploring a wide variety of mediums over the years, such as painting, drawing, sketching, stained glass, crocheting, woodworking sculptures and garden landscaping,” Sonya Bailey said.

Her daughter remembers her mother's patience and lighthearted attitude.

“She would spend hours by my side as a child helping me with homework,” Sonya Bailey said. “She was somebody who could take things in strides, and see the humor in it. I think what was most important to her was her relationships, her connections to people that she made throughout her life.”

For those wishing to honor her memory, her daughter requested donations be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Saint Vincent Meals on Wheels or an animal charity.