Longtime Stanislaus State employee Clifford H. Bailey, who retired in December 2009, passed away on June 10 due to complications of Parkinson’s disease. He is being remembered on campus and in the community as a Stan State alumnus, dedicated employee, mentor, talented artist and active local and international member of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).
Bailey graduated from Stan State in 1973 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and then earned a secondary education credential in 1974. The University hired him in 1975, and he retired as director of landscape, transportation and custodial after 35 years. As an alumnus, Bailey was active in the Alumni Association and briefly served as its president.
“Cliff dedicated most of his adult life to Stan State and made so many positive contributions in many projects related to maintenance infrastructure, electrical, fire alarms, roofs and seismic upgrades, as well as campus development of features like the Pergola and the lakes,” said Julia Reynoso, associate vice president of Capital Planning and Facilities Management. “He was a really wonderful, conscientious and kind individual who dedicated many exceptional years to the campus.”
Kind-hearted, ethical, honorable, gentle, compassionate and a great guy are a few of the terms longtime co-worker Frank Borrelli used to describe Bailey, the person who hired him in 1987.
“The way Cliff managed people was not the old-school way. His style was love, compassion, mentoring, coaching and developing people,” Borrelli said. “That’s not how it was usually done back in the ’80s and ’90s, but Cliff was ahead of his time. He was the epitome of how you could manage people with a humanistic style, and people liked it and wanted to do their best for him.
“I always looked up to him and learned a lot from him. When I became a manager, I took what I learned from him, and now I manage like he did. He was a great guy, and I really loved him.”
- Frank Borrelli, Manager of Support Services
Borrelli said it was not unusual for Bailey to go fishing or attend a ballgame with his work colleagues. Bailey also enjoyed brewing batches of beer at his house and having his work friends over for a few drinks and to play poker in his garage.
Borrelli added Bailey was so well liked that when he posted the news of his passing on Facebook, praise and memories from former co-workers quickly flooded in.
“People genuinely liked and respected him,” Borrelli said. “He was such a nice, kind man.”
After he retired, Bailey applied his facilities planning and management skills to help rebuild and maintain Turlock’s historic Carnegie Library Art Center. He also served on the Center’s foundation board of directors for 10 years and actively supported and participated in the local and regional arts scene.
In 2014, Bailey, his wife Ann (’73) and son, Cliff (’10), all accomplished artists, showed some of their work at the Stan State Art Space shortly after it opened. The exhibit, “Art Alumni on Main,” was multi-generational and featured alumni and their adult children who followed in their footsteps by studying art as Warriors.
Clifford Helmuth Bailey II was born in Carmel in 1949. His father was a major in the U.S. Army, and Bailey grew up in Japan, Germany and Pacific Grove. He also served in the Army, then moved to Turlock in 1972 and enrolled at Stan State.
In the Boy Scouts, Bailey was active in jamborees in Chile, Thailand, England, Germany and West Virginia. In the 1990s, he helped launch the Valley’s first Venture Crew, a coed program for older teens that included backpacking, biking, camping and rock climbing. At Florida’s BSA Sea Base, the group sailed from Key Largo to Key West on the ship Calypso Gypsy.
For many years, Bailey was part of BSA’s Wood Badge program, a training course for adult leadership. He received the BSA’s Silver Beaver Award, which is bestowed on Scouts of exceptional character who have provided distinguished service within a council.
Bailey is survived by his wife, Ann; son Clifford and daughter-in-law Stephanie (’10 and Stan State lecturer) of Turlock; sister Bonnie of Mariposa; nephew Grant of Mariposa and niece Katie of Salinas.
A memorial service will be held from 2 to 5 p.m., Sunday, July 16 at the Carnegie Center for the Arts, 250 N. Broadway, Turlock.
