Joan Lee Bailey

February 22, 1929 - October 26, 2018

Joan Lee Bailey (Vanatta), beloved wife, mother and grandmother passed away peacefully in her Phoenix home on October 26, 2018. She was born on Feb. 22, 1929, to Eugene and Velma Vanatta in La Junta, Colorado. As a child she moved with her parents and brother, Wayne, to Pratt, Kansas. Joan met and married the love of her life, Darrell Bailey and they had 4 daughters. Darrell managed Duckwall stores in Kansas and New Mexico, and eventually the family settled in Lamar, Colorado where she kept busy with her daughters’ activities, serving in her church and community and enjoying dear friends. When Darrell took a City Manager position in Salida, Colorado, Joan realized her life-long dream of living in Colorado’s majestic mountains. Joan soaked in the beauty of nature with such joy that her family joked there might not be any left. Darrell and Joan loved their time in Colorado, site-seeing, four wheeling and snowmobiling with friends. Joan’s curiosity and wander-lust was satisfied when she and Darrell left Salida to spend a year traveling the South in their RV. When Darrell passed away in 1991, Joan settled in Phoenix, to be close to two of her daughters and their children. She enjoyed volunteer work, bridge and traveling with friends and family. Her children and grandchildren will always remember her love and sweet smile. Joan is survived by her brother Wayne of Willis, Texas, her daughters Deb Bailey (Dwayne), Carolyn Johnson (Johnny) both in Phoenix, Janice DeVoe (Terry) of Silverton, Idaho, and Laura Mourning (Tom) of Colorado Springs, and Joan’s 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, November 3, 2018 at Larrison Mortuary, 300 Country Club Road, Pratt. Inurnment will follow at Greenlawn Cemetery, Pratt. In lieu of flowers, Joan would like donations to be made to the charity of your choice.