Janet Marie Collins Bailey

Mrs. Janet Marie Collins Bailey, of Ocean Springs, passed away on Friday, June 14, 2024 at the age of 88. She was born in Long Beach, California, in 1935, lived in Plainview, Arkansas, as a child, and met her husband in Vallejo, California, in their senior year of high school. Her father was in the US Navy and she was a child survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941.

She will be greatly missed by her 4 children, 5 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren, 2 step-great grands, children in law, and many nieces and nephews. She was a follower of Jesus Christ, and her family is comforted in the knowledge that she walks the streets of gold with him today, in a new body, free of disease and pain.

 She is reunited with those that have gone before her, her parents John Henry Collins and Evelyn Claudia Gumball LaBounte, her husband of 57 years John Eston Bailey, her sister Diane Collins Rand, and her brother John Collins Jr. She longed for the day she would be reunited with her beloved grandparents, Oscar and Anna Marie Gumball, that took her to church and raised her up in a relationship with Jesus.

Janet was a lifelong nurturer and helped care for her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She loved her babies! She loved to cook, and we will certainly miss her country cooking. She loved playing basketball, swimming, and watching sports of all kinds.

She was the perfect military wife as she supported her husband through his 20-year career in the US Air Force. She followed him all over the world including the Philippine Islands and Germany. She endured his absences during remote tours of duty and white-glove inspections with each move. She and John loved traveling across the US and took up RV’ing in the 1990’s. She made a pilgrimage to Israel with her daughter, Tammy, in 2006.

Many of her friends knew her as Jan, an artist that worked in acrylics and watercolor. She was well known for her works on Yupo. Abstracts were a favorite, but she painted many beautiful, real-life images of nature and everyday life. Her works were collected by many, both privately and in corporate collections. She was a past president of the Ocean Springs Art Association and participated in the annual Art Show up until a year before her death. She has won multiple awards and many of us are privileged to own pieces of her work, including her popular “Fort Bayou Fishing Camp” prints. 

Janet was a longtime member of the Church of the Nazarene, primarily in Biloxi. Years later, she and John began worshipping with their children at Wesley UMC in Ocean Springs. She had a lovely soprano voice and loved singing praises to God in the choir. She loved teaching Sunday School, VBS, and working in the nursery at church. She was an avid prayer warrior and student of the Bible.

Janet is survived by her children, Annette Diane Blocker, Tammy Marie Williams (Joe), Steven John Bailey, Kimberly Sue Bailey Espat (Jerry); grandchildren, Amy Nicole Baker Weaver (Paul), Anthony Joseph Williams (Rossa), Janet Marie Williams (Lee), Jimmy Lee Cannette Jr. (Delora), Jayne Cherie Cannette Nguyen (James), great grandchildren, step great grands, and her nieces and nephews.

A big thanks to her caregivers at Southern Magnolia Manor and Traditions Hospice.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Ocean Springs United Methodist Church (formerly Wesley UMC) on Sunday, June 23, at 2:00 PM followed by a Pie and Coffee Social. 

Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Janet Marie Collins Bailey.