YOUR STORY MATTERS HERE: Fay Bailiff

Fay Bailiff spent much of her life on the move—different towns, different homes, and three distinct careers—but the constant amid all that change has been her devout faith.

“God had a plan for me – certainly not the one I had for myself,” Bailiff explained, “but I believe it was His plan…I became a Christian when I was ten years old and dedicated my life to Christ when I was a teenager.”

Born and raised in Philipsburg, PA, Bailiff expected to stay there.

“This Pennsylvania girl who never wanted to leave Philipsburg did leave Philipsburg and began a new and exciting life,” Bailiff said. “I had to make my own way….God was with me from the beginning. Two days after graduating from high school, I started to work at the First National Bank as a bookkeeper,” Bailiff said. After a year and a half working, Bailiff’s minister suggested a program that would allow her to continue her education.

Bailiff moved to Tennessee to attend Johnson Bible College (now Johnson University), where she worked 30 hours per week cleaning the chapel and other buildings and eventually waiting tables and working in the kitchen at the dining hall to earn her room and board; she also carried a 20-hour class load studying the Bible, Greek, and music. Between classes and work, Bailiff had little spare time but spent time with some wonderful friends. Only 25 percent of her class graduated, but Fay was among those who earned bachelor’s degrees.

“I took every music course they had—voice, piano, organ, choir directing, everything,” Bailiff explained. “I was offered a job teaching music when I graduated, but we moved before I could do it.”

The “we” included Fay and her husband of 23 years, James D. Bailiff, an ordained minister in the Disciples of Christ Church, whom she met in college. Jim’s career and educational pursuits drove the family’s first move to eastern Tennessee and many relocations over the next two decades, and prompted Fay’s first career: a full-time “preacher’s wife.”

“Whatever needed to be done, I did it,” Fay said. Despite the hardships of being newly married and often alone in a new town, Fay loved the people in the church—a recurring theme in her story. “The congregation was so good to me.”

Fay and Jim’s three children, Cheryl, James, and Richard, were born as the family moved to new ministries throughout Tennessee and Kentucky. During that time, Fay often served the churches through her musical talent while raising her young children. Jim served the church and worked to earn his master’s degree.

Though life was not always easy, support from her church family was a constant. In the early years, one farmer’s wife invited Fay over to help her with the preparing and canning of vegetables—Fay was happy to learn a new skill. Another family helped out when one of Fay’s children had an asthma attack; they took Fay and her son to the hospital and cared for Cheryl while Fay’s husband was away at school.

“They were the church in action!” Fay said.

Once Jim completed his M.Div. degree at Vanderbilt University, the family moved to Paris, TN. The church was prominent in the community for its faithfulness. Fay took that opportunity to attend the University of Tennessee at Martin, where she earned a second bachelor’s degree, with honors—this time in education.

Her graduation was again punctuated by an immediate job offer, and Fay taught elementary school for a year. This opportunity marked the beginning of Fay’s second career, in education. They moved to Jacksonville, FL, where Fay taught third grade and was chosen by Duval County to attend a class of 25 whose goal was a master’s degree in educational, administration and supervision from the University of Florida. About a year after Fay earned that degree, the couple moved again – this time to Ft. Lauderdale.  Jim earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Emory University.

Fay was hired as a middle school reading specialist. Her job consisted of overseeing the inclusion of reading in the curriculum, working with the staff, testing the students, and setting up reading labs aimed at supporting struggling readers and challenging advanced students.

In the meantime, Fay remained active in the church. She taught a kindergarten Sunday school class, sponsored a youth group with her husband, and founded a small children’s choir as well as youth choir of more than 50 high school students who sang every Sunday and performed two cantatas each year. She sang in the adult choir and a quartet and attended a Koinonia study group.  

In Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Fay and her husband Jim divorced. Though it was a painful and difficult time, Fay said, “There was not ever one moment that the Lord was not with me.”

While Fay continued to teach and to serve her church, she sensed it was time for a change. Once again, a job appeared.

“I got a letter out of the blue from a college friend I had not seen for 20 years,” Fay explained. The friend not only invited her to take a job working for the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) outside Chicago, she also sent Fay a plane ticket to come check it out. Fay said “yes” and embarked on her third career.

Fay worked as meetings manager for STLE, where ran a large annual conference with 1,200 attendees as well as a smaller events. She oversaw the organization’s transition to the computer era. The shift to computers was a massive undertaking, but Fay brought years of organizational experience and took computer classes to learn the new language.

“What I didn’t know, I learned as I went along,” she said. Echoing earlier sentiments about her very first “preacher’s wife” job in her very first church, Fay said, “I did it because it had to be done.”

Though Bailiff is invariably humble about her contributions, she was a beloved and well-respected employee. She retired after 21 years.

*  *  *

Bailiff first found Dutilh Church about 20 years ago, while still living in Illinois. She attended Dutilh when visiting her daughter, Cheryl Lucas, and said that from the beginning, “Dutilh felt like home.”

When she moved here in 2013, Bailiff immediately joined the church and choir. She served as a greeter, attended a Bible study and 55+ (now called “Faithful Followers”), participated in fabric ministry, and learned how to make a quilt.

“When you’re the new kid on the block, you want to attend as many events as you can,” Bailiff explained. That’s how she found Faithful Followers. In 2017, Bailiff was invited to lead the group. She said no, thinking that others would be better suited to lead it. They asked again.

“I asked ‘Why?’” Bailiff said, “and one person was honest with me and said nobody else would do it. So I did some soul searching, and I said, ‘Yes.’”

Bailiff credits the advice of Brenda Seigworth and Joanne Melder, who advise her and serve as a sounding board, with helping to grow the Faithful Followers from a group of about a dozen in 2017 to the more than 35 who regularly gather today.

“I love the people at Dutilh and the opportunity to do things for the Lord,” Bailiff said. She especially enjoys cross-generational interactions like reading or teaching Bible lessons to children, helping the kids make valentines, and helping with Ava Ekstam’s senior project to assist people in Zimbabwe in 2019.

While Bailiff’s long list of leadership and volunteer activities in churches over the years are no surprise, people may not know she became an accomplished carpenter in her later years.

“While I was in Illinois, I bought a small house that needed lots of love.” Fay learned to lay tile, hang sheetrock, and hammer a nail; she also painted the entire house. She is a history buff and has visited historic sites such as the Alamo, Colonial Williamsburg, and old forts in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Kentucky.

Bailiff derives a great deal of joy from her family as well.

“I have a wonderful family,” she said. Her daughter Cheryl, son-in-law Don, and two grandchildren live nearby. Her son James, his wife Eve, and their two sons live in Florida. Her son Richard, his wife Amanda, and two of their children live in North Carolina, and another grandson lives in Texas with his family. She has seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren in all.

To anyone who might be hesitant to get involved in leading a ministry, Bailiff suggests, “Be willing to try something new. I was hesitant because I thought others could do it better, but Faithful Followers was an avenue to meet people—a point of entry. I pray a lot and I ask for advice when I need it.”

Amid her many homes over the years, Bailiff has had one consistent home: the church.

“The church has always been my refuge, my home, my life,” Bailiff said. “I’m thankful Dutilh has given me the opportunity to be me.”

If you or someone you know in the Dutilh family has an interesting story or profession, send us your ideas! We would love to help tell the story. Email: communications@dutilhumc.org.