Cliff Bailey, 94, passed away peacefully at home on the family farm in Snohomish, Washington, where he lived his entire life. Growing up on the family dairy and crop farm, he graduated from Snohomish High School in 1944. He was active in FFA serving as Washington State FFA President in 1943. He married his high school sweetheart, Rosemary, in 1946. They raised three sons on the farm.
Besides milking cows at 4 in the morning for 20 years, Cliff was active in the National FFA, the Washington State Holstein Association, All West Breeders, leading its creation through merger with other western AI organizations and its membership in Select Sires. He served nine years on the National Holstein Association Board of Directors including two as Association president. He also served on the Snohomish School Board, the state prison vocational board and was a member of the Snohomish First Presbyterian Church.
In the early 1980s when his sons took over more of the farm duties, he served on the Snohomish County Council for four years and then moved on to the Washington State Senate where he served for eight years. In the early 1990s he became Chairman of Compass Health for 10 years. In his public service he focused on farmland preservation, school funding, and mental health.
He leaves his wife of 74 years, Rosemary, his sons Dan and Don, nine grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Ellen Snow. He was preceded in death by a sister and son, David.
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