Clara B. Bailey

Clara Belle Bailey (Huggins) 93, originally from Coalwood, WV, was called home by her Eternal Father on Tuesday, July 2ND 2024.  She was born on Jan 15th, 1931 to her parents, Coleman and Gertrude Huggins in Uniontown Alabama. Later, she and her family moved to Coalwood, WV where she attended Excelsior High School.  During this time, she met and married the man she would spend her life with for the next 39 years, James Wesley “Bud” Bailey.  They were married in 1946 and proceeded to raise a family of seven beautiful children.

She was a loyal and faithful member of Free Mission of Christ in Yukon, WV under the guidance and teachings of Elder Emily Bethea.  From there, she went on to become a member of Free Assembly of God in Christ in Cleveland, OH with Pastor Richard Hubbard who was still teaching the foundations established by his aunt, Elder Bethea.

Aside from praising God, ministering to others, and remaining steadfast in faithfulness to her love of God, she loved to garden.  She maintained a garden for years in her mother-in-law’s plot of land, first with her late husband and later in her own back yard.  She loved flowers almost as much as she loved gardening vegetables, tending to her garden for hours at a time and handing extras out to friends and neighbors.

She also loved to sew.  She became a very skilled seamstress out of necessity and then out of the pure joy of sitting at her sewing machine and making curtains and bedspreads, or making adjustments for others in the community, and making clothes for her children, friends and family.

No memory of her would be complete if her love of cooking were not mentioned. In particular, her cakes. Pound cake, German chocolate cake, and coconut cakes were her specialties, often making multiples over the holidays. Sweet potato pies, blackberry cobblers, potato rolls and cornbread also deserve an honorable mention.

As time passed, and out of necessity as much as want, she eventually relocated to Charlotte, NC in 2013.  There, she continued to live out the remainder of her life in the company of 3 of her children and her grandchildren on a regular basis.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Coleman Huggins and Gertrude Huggins, her husband, James Wesley Bailey (“Bud”), her brothers Willie Huggins and David Huggins Jr, her daughter, Crystal Purcell (Bailey) and her granddaughter, Leslie Watts (Bailey).

She is survived by her sister Mary Lou Griffith (Huggins), Buffalo NY. She is also survived by her six remaining children; Clayton Bailey; Kings Mountain, NC., Francis Bailey; Sacramento CA., Tyrone Bailey; San Francisco CA., Cathy Bailey; Charlotte, NC., Michael Bailey; Des Moine, IA., and Kimberly Bailey; Chicago, IL. along with a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Service:
Friday, July 12, 2024

1:00pm – 3:00pm EST

Restlawn Memorial Gardens

6605 New Hope Rd

Bluefield, WV 24701