Barbara Conkling Harding Bailey

Barbara Conkling Harding Bailey, 93 passed from this life to the next on Friday, December 11, 2020. A graveside service will be held on Thursday, December 17, 2020 at 2 PM at the Rising Star Heritage Cemetery.

Mrs. Bailey was born on November 1, 1927 in Rising Star, Texas. She attended Texas Christian University and graduated from Texas Tech University in 1948, and later Hardin Simmons University where she received her masters of education. Her parents were the late W.H. and Mary (Schults) Conkling, formerly of Abilene. Mrs. Bailey taught 3rd grade and was an elementary school counselor in the Abilene Public Schools. She was a member of the Abilene Retired Teachers Association, Texas Retired Teachers Association, Delta Kappa Gamma Sorority, and Phi Epsilon Omicron, a national home economics fraternity.

Mrs. Bailey lived for 15 months in Japan from 1949-1950. Her husband Capt. R.L. Harding, was a WWII bomber pilot in the US Army Air Corp. He was killed the first day of the Korean War and was considered the war’s first casualty.

Survivors include her son, Craig Bailey and wife, Donna; grandchildren, Chris Harding, Robin Staton, Stephanie Ivy, and Bryan Bailey; great-grandchildren, Jacob Harding, Blake Harding, Austin Harding, Elisabeth Staton, Stephen Staton, Liam Ivy, Aubree Ivy, and Jadyn Ivy; and a step-son, Allen Bailey of Anchorage, Alaska. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, son, Richard Lane Harding, and a brother, W.S. Conkling.

For those wishing to honor Barbara’s life with a memorial contribution the family suggests the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601. Online condolences can be left at www.edwards-funeral-homes.com.