[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 125 (Friday, September 18, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN MEMORY OF ROBERT ORVILLE ``BOB'' BAILEY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 18, 1998

  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reflect upon the 
passing, on August 18, 1998, of Robert Orville ``Bob'' Bailey, known as 
the Father of Aptos California.
  Bob was born in Napa California, on December 8, 1924. His mother 
Hazel was a well-known elementary teacher in Watsonville, in Santa Cruz 
County. Bob attended Watsonville High School, Salinas Junior College 
and San Jose State University. he served in the United States Navy, on 
the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, from 1942 to 1946. Although he had visited 
Aptos as a youth, he did not actually move to the community until 1967. 
In that year he brought his wife Jan, and five sons to Aptos, becoming 
a member of the Rio del Mar Improvement Association upon his arrival.
  Seven years later, he established Bob Bailey Real Estate in historic 
Redwood Village. Bob worked to preserve and protect the old buildings, 
exhibiting the dedication to community that became his hallmark. Soon 
his sons Robert and Paul joined him and helped to build it to a healthy 
sixteen-agent business. In 1982, Bob established Bob Bailey Real Estate 
and Property Management Company on Aptos Beach Drive, with windows 
overlooking the then-neglected Esplanade. Working with the Sheriff's 
Department and the Community Enhancement Committee, Bob was 
instrumental in cleaning up the community and bringing it together. Rio 
del Mar Beach became known as ``Bob's Beach,'' while Bob became known 
as ``The Watchdog of Rio del Mar.'' Bob and his wife Jan received the 
Aptos Chamber Business of the Year Award in 1991. Bob was given the 
``Man of the Year Award'' by the Aptos Chamber in 1997.
  Bob cared deeply for the health of local businesses, serving as a 
member of the Aptos Chamber of Commerce, and the Santa Cruz County 
Conference and Visitor's Council, as well as the Aptos Chamber Tourism 
Committee. Bob also volunteered for children and the schools, as an 
Eagle Scout and scoutmaster, and as a Shriner for 37 years, raising 
funds to fight childhood diseases. Bob Bailey is survived by his wife, 
Jan, by his five sons, Kent, Paul, Robert, Willis and Michael, by eight 
grandchildren, by his step-children, Yvonne Robera, Ronnie Obertello 
Jr., and Laura Helgueros, and by six step-grandchildren. Our hearts go 
out to his family.
  Since he first arrived in the little community of Aptos, there have 
been a lot of changes, many of them wrought by Bob himself. Through 
both his work and service, Bob created a sense of community in Aptos. 
His dry wit and deep sense of responsibility will be missed, but the 
many ways he beautified and promoted his community remain as his 
legacy.

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