Jill Helen Bailey, age 57, passed away January 18, 2022, at home, in hospice, in Bow, Washington, in the arms of her loving husband, after a courageous 2 ½ year battle with brain cancer (GBM).  She was born September 18, 1964, in Midland, Michigan to Dean Irwin and Janet Joyce (Launstein) Bailey.

Although a resident of Washington State for over 30 years, Jill was a Michigan girl at heart.  Most summers included 2–3-week vacations in Traverse City and later, Lowell, MI, visiting her parents, relatives and friends; beach time was always a priority.  She was also a committed United Methodist Christian, in the Bailey tradition, and regularly attended many congregations wherever she resided.

Jill touched and impacted the lives of many hundreds of children and their parents as a teacher for 32 years, before being forced into early retirement by her cancer diagnosis in 2019.  She earned her B.S. in Education in 1987 from Central Michigan University and an M.A. in Early Childhood Special Education from Western Washington University in 1996.  She was dedicated and took her vocation very seriously, always striving to educate each student in her classroom based on their individual needs and goals, drawing on her particular experience in Reading, Special Education, and Emotionally Impaired disciplines, primarily in the 2nd grade.  She had a talent for organization, an enthusiastic, no-nonsense approach to learning, while at the same time maintaining a positive, fun, and rewarding classroom atmosphere.

Her many interests included fitness, running, cycling, hiking, camping, reading, and travel.  An early interest in climbing took her to New Zealand and Ecuador, and eventually to the Pacific Northwest.  As a teacher in DoDDS in Germany, she was able to travel all over Europe, eventually returning with her family for memorable vacations in Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, UK, Ireland, and Sweden.  In between travels abroad were summer trips to many national parks in the West and Southwest.  She also loved animals, and a home with Jill was seldom without a pet rabbit, cat, or dog(s) (usually, all of the above).  But her passion was for horses, and she loved to ride English and compete in Hunter/Jumping events, owning several horses over the years, as time (and finances) allowed (her father, Pastor Bailey, in a sermon, once remarked, "Jill saved her babysitting money and bought her own horse, at age 13 –and we've been paying for it ever since..!").

She loved her children fiercely, her high school sweetheart husband of 22 years unreservedly, and was a true, loyal, and honest friend.  Her determination to live and experience life to the fullest despite her cancer and treatment was a community inspiration, and she initiated and collaborated on the installation of an outdoor gravel and masonry labyrinth on the grounds of Edison Elementary School to provide students, as she put it, "…a place to be centered and slow down," which she found calming and helpful in coping with her own recovery; it will be a lasting legacy.

Her thick, auburn hair, tourmaline eyes, and bright, beautiful smile will be remembered, and missed, always.

Jill is survived by her husband, Edward Erich Nus; sons, Tommy Dean Bailey-Chisholm, Callan Tod Bailey Nus and Samuel Scott Bailey Nus; grandson, Carson Michael Allen; brothers, Glenn Loral Bailey and Tod Irwin Bailey.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Dean and Janet.

A Funeral Service for close friends and family will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Mount Vernon, WA, 1:00, Saturday, February 5, 2022.  A Memorial Service to include the community will be held later in the spring. In lieu of flowers donations can go to, Crossroads Urban Center, 347 South 400 East, Salt Lake City, UT  84111.  Share your memories of Jill and sign the online guest register.