The Rev. A. Purnell Bailey inspired readers through his column for six decades
The Rev. Amos Purnell Bailey, whose "Our Daily Bread" newspaper column inspired people around the world for 66 years, has died.
Mr. Bailey collapsed in the hall Sunday on his way to church at the Spotsylvania retirement community where he lived. The 88-year-old retired United Methodist minister was pronounced dead on arrival at a Fredericksburg hospital.
It was the way he would have preferred to go, said his stepson, Walter Jervis Sheffield of Fredericksburg.
Seven days a week, Mr. Bailey struggled to write his 250-word column, Sheffield said. At its peak, "Our Daily Bread" was syndicated in about 100 newspapers, a number that has dropped to under 50. It began running in The Richmond News Leader in 1951 and continued in the Richmond Times-Dispatch when the papers merged in 1992.
"Purnell affected a lot of people," Sheffield said. "He received more than 1,500 Christmas cards each year. He wrote 10 letters a day to people by hand. He was a man of letters, a supreme correspondent."
He also reached out for 17 years with a daily two-minute radio spot broadcast throughout the Southeast.
A native of Grotons on the Eastern Shore, he worked for $7 a week at a grocery store to pay for his studies at Randolph-Macon College, where he earned a bachelor's degree.
"He felt the call to the ministry when he was 15, during the singing of 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus,'" Sheffield said.
An Army chaplain during World War II, he was attached to Gen. Douglas MacArthur's staff in Japan. A member of the staff suggested that Mr. Bailey write brief, encouraging articles for the troops. His first column appeared in The Stars and Stripes military newspaper on Oct. 4, 1945.
His format was always biblical verses entwined with stories from life. " . . . if it's wrapped up in a story, people will remember it," he said in a 2005 Times-Dispatch interview.
BAILEY
Dr. Amos Purnell Bailey, a resident of Chancellor's Village in Spotsylvania, Virginia, and a native of Grotons, Accomack County, Virginia, was promoted to glory on Sunday, July 16, 2006 at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Dr. Bailey was educated at Randolph-Macon College (BA); Duke Divinity School (BD); Union Theological Seminary, Richmond (ThM); Union Theological Seminary, New York, and the Ecumenical Institute, Jerusalem. Dr. Bailey was later honored by Randolph-Macon with a Doctor of Divinity degree. A significant endowment was given to the college in his name to fund scholarships for students aspiring to the ministry. He had a distinguished career as an Army chaplain with the First Cavalry Division during World War II. He began writing his syndicated column, "Our Daily Bread" in the Stars and Stripes newspaper while serving on General MacArthur's staff in Tokyo in 1945. Over the past 66 years, his radio program, books and inspirational column, which he wrote every day, ministered to thousands around the world. As an ordained United Methodist minister in the Virginia Annual Conference, he served pastorates at Centenary, Reveille, Beulah, and New Kent charge in Richmond, Grace in Newport News, Oak Grove in Chesapeake, and was the District Superintendent of the Richmond District. During the final 10 years of his active ministry, he was in charge of all of the United Methodist Church's chaplains worldwide. Dr. Bailey is survived by his wife, Betty Lou Sheffield Bailey. His first wife, Ruth Hill Bailey, died in 1992. He has four daughters, Carol Harriman of Alexandria, Va., Anne Page of Raleigh, N.C., Elizabeth Richardson of Richmond, Va. and Jeanne Dodge-Allen of Fairfax, Va.; 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He is also survived by one brother, Homer Bailey of Tulsa, Okla.; and three stepchildren, Walter Sheffield of Fredericksburg, Va., Dr. Polly Roberts of Roanoke, Va., and Courtney Lou Tierney of O'Fallon, Ill. The burial will be private. A memorial service will be held at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church on Saturday, July 22, 2006 at 11 a.m. Visitation will be held before and after the service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the A. Purnell Bailey Scholarship Fund, Randolph-Macon College, P.O. Box 5005, Ashland, Va. 23005.
The Rev. Amos Purnell Bailey, whose "Our Daily Bread" newspaper column inspired people around the world for 66 years, has died.
Mr. Bailey collapsed in the hall Sunday on his way to church at the Spotsylvania retirement community where he lived. The 88-year-old retired United Methodist minister was pronounced dead on arrival at a Fredericksburg hospital.
It was the way he would have preferred to go, said his stepson, Walter Jervis Sheffield of Fredericksburg.
Seven days a week, Mr. Bailey struggled to write his 250-word column, Sheffield said. At its peak, "Our Daily Bread" was syndicated in about 100 newspapers, a number that has dropped to under 50. It began running in The Richmond News Leader in 1951 and continued in the Richmond Times-Dispatch when the papers merged in 1992.
"Purnell affected a lot of people," Sheffield said. "He received more than 1,500 Christmas cards each year. He wrote 10 letters a day to people by hand. He was a man of letters, a supreme correspondent."
He also reached out for 17 years with a daily two-minute radio spot broadcast throughout the Southeast.
A native of Grotons on the Eastern Shore, he worked for $7 a week at a grocery store to pay for his studies at Randolph-Macon College, where he earned a bachelor's degree.
"He felt the call to the ministry when he was 15, during the singing of 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus,'" Sheffield said.
An Army chaplain during World War II, he was attached to Gen. Douglas MacArthur's staff in Japan. A member of the staff suggested that Mr. Bailey write brief, encouraging articles for the troops. His first column appeared in The Stars and Stripes military newspaper on Oct. 4, 1945.
His format was always biblical verses entwined with stories from life. " . . . if it's wrapped up in a story, people will remember it," he said in a 2005 Times-Dispatch interview.
BAILEY
Dr. Amos Purnell Bailey, a resident of Chancellor's Village in Spotsylvania, Virginia, and a native of Grotons, Accomack County, Virginia, was promoted to glory on Sunday, July 16, 2006 at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Dr. Bailey was educated at Randolph-Macon College (BA); Duke Divinity School (BD); Union Theological Seminary, Richmond (ThM); Union Theological Seminary, New York, and the Ecumenical Institute, Jerusalem. Dr. Bailey was later honored by Randolph-Macon with a Doctor of Divinity degree. A significant endowment was given to the college in his name to fund scholarships for students aspiring to the ministry. He had a distinguished career as an Army chaplain with the First Cavalry Division during World War II. He began writing his syndicated column, "Our Daily Bread" in the Stars and Stripes newspaper while serving on General MacArthur's staff in Tokyo in 1945. Over the past 66 years, his radio program, books and inspirational column, which he wrote every day, ministered to thousands around the world. As an ordained United Methodist minister in the Virginia Annual Conference, he served pastorates at Centenary, Reveille, Beulah, and New Kent charge in Richmond, Grace in Newport News, Oak Grove in Chesapeake, and was the District Superintendent of the Richmond District. During the final 10 years of his active ministry, he was in charge of all of the United Methodist Church's chaplains worldwide. Dr. Bailey is survived by his wife, Betty Lou Sheffield Bailey. His first wife, Ruth Hill Bailey, died in 1992. He has four daughters, Carol Harriman of Alexandria, Va., Anne Page of Raleigh, N.C., Elizabeth Richardson of Richmond, Va. and Jeanne Dodge-Allen of Fairfax, Va.; 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He is also survived by one brother, Homer Bailey of Tulsa, Okla.; and three stepchildren, Walter Sheffield of Fredericksburg, Va., Dr. Polly Roberts of Roanoke, Va., and Courtney Lou Tierney of O'Fallon, Ill. The burial will be private. A memorial service will be held at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church on Saturday, July 22, 2006 at 11 a.m. Visitation will be held before and after the service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the A. Purnell Bailey Scholarship Fund, Randolph-Macon College, P.O. Box 5005, Ashland, Va. 23005.
The Rev. A. Purnell Bailey inspired readers through his column for six decades
The Rev. Amos Purnell Bailey, whose "Our Daily Bread" newspaper column inspired people around the world for 66 years, has died.
Mr. Bailey collapsed in the hall Sunday on his way to church at the Spotsylvania retirement community where he lived. The 88-year-old retired United Methodist minister was pronounced dead on arrival at a Fredericksburg hospital.
It was the way he would have preferred to go, said his stepson, Walter Jervis Sheffield of Fredericksburg.
Seven days a week, Mr. Bailey struggled to write his 250-word column, Sheffield said. At its peak, "Our Daily Bread" was syndicated in about 100 newspapers, a number that has dropped to under 50. It began running in The Richmond News Leader in 1951 and continued in the Richmond Times-Dispatch when the papers merged in 1992.
"Purnell affected a lot of people," Sheffield said. "He received more than 1,500 Christmas cards each year. He wrote 10 letters a day to people by hand. He was a man of letters, a supreme correspondent."
He also reached out for 17 years with a daily two-minute radio spot broadcast throughout the Southeast.
A native of Grotons on the Eastern Shore, he worked for $7 a week at a grocery store to pay for his studies at Randolph-Macon College, where he earned a bachelor's degree.
"He felt the call to the ministry when he was 15, during the singing of 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus,'" Sheffield said.
An Army chaplain during World War II, he was attached to Gen. Douglas MacArthur's staff in Japan. A member of the staff suggested that Mr. Bailey write brief, encouraging articles for the troops. His first column appeared in The Stars and Stripes military newspaper on Oct. 4, 1945.
His format was always biblical verses entwined with stories from life. " . . . if it's wrapped up in a story, people will remember it," he said in a 2005 Times-Dispatch interview.
BAILEY
Dr. Amos Purnell Bailey, a resident of Chancellor's Village in Spotsylvania, Virginia, and a native of Grotons, Accomack County, Virginia, was promoted to glory on Sunday, July 16, 2006 at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Dr. Bailey was educated at Randolph-Macon College (BA); Duke Divinity School (BD); Union Theological Seminary, Richmond (ThM); Union Theological Seminary, New York, and the Ecumenical Institute, Jerusalem. Dr. Bailey was later honored by Randolph-Macon with a Doctor of Divinity degree. A significant endowment was given to the college in his name to fund scholarships for students aspiring to the ministry. He had a distinguished career as an Army chaplain with the First Cavalry Division during World War II. He began writing his syndicated column, "Our Daily Bread" in the Stars and Stripes newspaper while serving on General MacArthur's staff in Tokyo in 1945. Over the past 66 years, his radio program, books and inspirational column, which he wrote every day, ministered to thousands around the world. As an ordained United Methodist minister in the Virginia Annual Conference, he served pastorates at Centenary, Reveille, Beulah, and New Kent charge in Richmond, Grace in Newport News, Oak Grove in Chesapeake, and was the District Superintendent of the Richmond District. During the final 10 years of his active ministry, he was in charge of all of the United Methodist Church's chaplains worldwide. Dr. Bailey is survived by his wife, Betty Lou Sheffield Bailey. His first wife, Ruth Hill Bailey, died in 1992. He has four daughters, Carol Harriman of Alexandria, Va., Anne Page of Raleigh, N.C., Elizabeth Richardson of Richmond, Va. and Jeanne Dodge-Allen of Fairfax, Va.; 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He is also survived by one brother, Homer Bailey of Tulsa, Okla.; and three stepchildren, Walter Sheffield of Fredericksburg, Va., Dr. Polly Roberts of Roanoke, Va., and Courtney Lou Tierney of O'Fallon, Ill. The burial will be private. A memorial service will be held at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church on Saturday, July 22, 2006 at 11 a.m. Visitation will be held before and after the service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the A. Purnell Bailey Scholarship Fund, Randolph-Macon College, P.O. Box 5005, Ashland, Va. 23005.
The Rev. Amos Purnell Bailey, whose "Our Daily Bread" newspaper column inspired people around the world for 66 years, has died.
Mr. Bailey collapsed in the hall Sunday on his way to church at the Spotsylvania retirement community where he lived. The 88-year-old retired United Methodist minister was pronounced dead on arrival at a Fredericksburg hospital.
It was the way he would have preferred to go, said his stepson, Walter Jervis Sheffield of Fredericksburg.
Seven days a week, Mr. Bailey struggled to write his 250-word column, Sheffield said. At its peak, "Our Daily Bread" was syndicated in about 100 newspapers, a number that has dropped to under 50. It began running in The Richmond News Leader in 1951 and continued in the Richmond Times-Dispatch when the papers merged in 1992.
"Purnell affected a lot of people," Sheffield said. "He received more than 1,500 Christmas cards each year. He wrote 10 letters a day to people by hand. He was a man of letters, a supreme correspondent."
He also reached out for 17 years with a daily two-minute radio spot broadcast throughout the Southeast.
A native of Grotons on the Eastern Shore, he worked for $7 a week at a grocery store to pay for his studies at Randolph-Macon College, where he earned a bachelor's degree.
"He felt the call to the ministry when he was 15, during the singing of 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus,'" Sheffield said.
An Army chaplain during World War II, he was attached to Gen. Douglas MacArthur's staff in Japan. A member of the staff suggested that Mr. Bailey write brief, encouraging articles for the troops. His first column appeared in The Stars and Stripes military newspaper on Oct. 4, 1945.
His format was always biblical verses entwined with stories from life. " . . . if it's wrapped up in a story, people will remember it," he said in a 2005 Times-Dispatch interview.
BAILEY
Dr. Amos Purnell Bailey, a resident of Chancellor's Village in Spotsylvania, Virginia, and a native of Grotons, Accomack County, Virginia, was promoted to glory on Sunday, July 16, 2006 at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Dr. Bailey was educated at Randolph-Macon College (BA); Duke Divinity School (BD); Union Theological Seminary, Richmond (ThM); Union Theological Seminary, New York, and the Ecumenical Institute, Jerusalem. Dr. Bailey was later honored by Randolph-Macon with a Doctor of Divinity degree. A significant endowment was given to the college in his name to fund scholarships for students aspiring to the ministry. He had a distinguished career as an Army chaplain with the First Cavalry Division during World War II. He began writing his syndicated column, "Our Daily Bread" in the Stars and Stripes newspaper while serving on General MacArthur's staff in Tokyo in 1945. Over the past 66 years, his radio program, books and inspirational column, which he wrote every day, ministered to thousands around the world. As an ordained United Methodist minister in the Virginia Annual Conference, he served pastorates at Centenary, Reveille, Beulah, and New Kent charge in Richmond, Grace in Newport News, Oak Grove in Chesapeake, and was the District Superintendent of the Richmond District. During the final 10 years of his active ministry, he was in charge of all of the United Methodist Church's chaplains worldwide. Dr. Bailey is survived by his wife, Betty Lou Sheffield Bailey. His first wife, Ruth Hill Bailey, died in 1992. He has four daughters, Carol Harriman of Alexandria, Va., Anne Page of Raleigh, N.C., Elizabeth Richardson of Richmond, Va. and Jeanne Dodge-Allen of Fairfax, Va.; 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He is also survived by one brother, Homer Bailey of Tulsa, Okla.; and three stepchildren, Walter Sheffield of Fredericksburg, Va., Dr. Polly Roberts of Roanoke, Va., and Courtney Lou Tierney of O'Fallon, Ill. The burial will be private. A memorial service will be held at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church on Saturday, July 22, 2006 at 11 a.m. Visitation will be held before and after the service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the A. Purnell Bailey Scholarship Fund, Randolph-Macon College, P.O. Box 5005, Ashland, Va. 23005.
Gravesite Details
Date Of Burial : 07/21/2006, , Ref: Cemetery Records
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
