Dale R. Bailey

Dale Richard Bailey, 81, of the Iowa Veterans Home, died Tuesday, June 19, 2012, following a battle with lung cancer and leukemia,at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, surrounded by his loving family.Funeral services and a celebration of Dale's life will be held at 1:30 p.m., Monday, June 25, at the First Baptist Church in Marshalltown, Iowa. Burial with full military honors by the Harry C. Harter Veterans of Foreign Wars Post # 839 and the Frank Lewis Glick Post #46 will follow services. Visitation for Dale will be held on Sunday, June 24, 2012, from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home. Memorials may be directed to the American Cancer Society. For further information or to send a condolence, please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call (641) 844-1234. Dale was born August 13, 1930, in State Center, Iowa, the son of Charles C. and Irene (Wilkening) Bailey. Dale met his wife, Norma Wells, in Bremerton, Washington. Dale and Norma were married on May 18, 1952, at McCord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Washington where she was serving in the United States Air Force. They became the parents of six wonderful children. Dale honorably served his country as a member of both the United States Navy and the United States Air Force. He retired from the United States Air Force in 1972. Dale worked for the United States Postal Service Bulk Mail Center in Urbandale, Iowa from 1974 to 1992. During this time, they resided in Haverhill, Iowa, and then Marshalltown, Iowa. They moved to Primghar, Iowa in 2000. In 2010, he moved to the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown, Iowa. Dale enjoyed woodworking, traveling, camping and watching old Westerns on television. Most of all he loved to spend time with his family. He was a loving and caring husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.Dale is survived by his wife of 60 years, Norma, his six children: Dianne (DeVon) Swenson of Radcliffe, Iowa; Donna (Gary) Abbe of Greenville, South Carolina; Denise Wegter of Buffalo, Minnesota; Beverly Nelson of Sheldon, Iowa; Charles (Kendra) Bailey of Kansas City, Missouri; and Carole (Chris) Clevenger of Edwardsville, Illinois. He is also survived by his step-mother Rosalie Bailey, his two brothers, Don (Sandy) Bailey of Marshalltown, Iowa and Ed (Deb) LaPour of Bremerton, Washington, his fifteen grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, son-in-law Marvin Nelson, many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Dale was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Bev Seffinga and son-in-law Marvin Wegter.