Marvin Eugene Bailey

Marvin Eugene Bailey, 82 passed away September 23, 2018 at his residence in Anchorage. A Celebration of Life will be held 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. October 9 at the Bayshore Clubhouse, 3131 Amber Bay Loop, Anchorage. Sue Anne will spread his cremated remains at Standing Indian Mountain, North Carolina on the Appalachian Trail at a later date. Marvin was born January 24, 1936 in Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated high school from Columbia Military Academy. Marvin furthered his education earning his B.A. in English from Rhodes College and his PhD in English from the University of South Carolina. He began his professional career teaching English at the University of Tennessee and the University of Memphis. Marvin later worked as a journalist with the Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Jackson Sun (Jackson, TN). In 1984, he moved to Anchorage with his life partner, Sue Anne Jenkerson and began work with the State of Alaska Division of Public Health as a Program Manager for AIDS Program. He later joined the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the national AIDS Program. Over the years his work with CDC later assigned Marvin as a Health Educator to the State of Alaska Division of Public Health where he worked in the Birth Defects Program studying Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and later in the Environmental Health Program, retiring in 2005. Marvin enjoyed reading, backpacking, handball, fishing, travel, and cooking. He enjoyed his friends and family. He hiked the Appalachian Trail and was a life member of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. In 1980, Marvin received the Conservation Communicator of the Year award given by Tennessee Conservation League and the National Wildlife Federation. Marvin is survived by his life partner, Sue Anne Jenkerson, Anchorage; one brother, Stoy Bailey, Memphis, TN; nieces, Ruth ODell, Oxford, MS; Pat (Hal) Deatherage, Knoxville, TN; and Nancy Bailey, Memphis, TN; nephews, John (Carol) Bailey, Midlothian, TX; James (Lisa) Bailey, Akron, OH; and Gene (Gerri) Bailey, Memphis, TN; and several grandnieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, John Milton and Ruth Bailey; and twin brothers, Milton and Hilton Bailey. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (appalachiantrail.org) or the Anchorage Library Foundation (librarychampion.com) or your local library.