With her daughters by her side, Edith Louise (Piselli) Bailey, known by almost everyone as “Dolly”, died peacefully on January 11, 2022, at Country Living Adult Foster Care in Portland.
She was born the only daughter of Italian immigrant parents, the late Raffaele Piselli and Mary (Zaffarano) Piselli who settled in Ionia from Cosenza, Italy. Some may remember the Piselli’s Grocery on W. Lincoln Avenue that the whole family had a role in until it was sold in the mid 1960’s.
Dolly was a lifelong member of St Peter and Paul Church in Ionia. She was a 1948 graduate of St Peter and Paul Academy. She married in 1950 and had three children. Dolly enjoyed the role of mother and homemaker until 1970. She then entered the workforce at Bosley Pharmacy. Most people would recognize her as the friendly smiling little lady at the front register. In retirement she filled her time as a substitute for Ionia Public Schools Food Service from 1993-2007. In her younger years, she enjoyed camping in West Michigan, cooking, traveling on bus tours, tending to her beautiful flowers, but most precious to her was spending time with her children and grandchildren.
She will be dearly missed by her children, Steven (Lynn) Bailey, Cheryl (Kim) Foster and Carol (Gordon) Francisco, her grandchildren, Casey (Kelly) Bailey, Corey (Denise) Bailey, Brady (Rebecca) Foster, Matthew (Carmen) Foster, Krista (Jay P) Dudley and Jenna (Brandon) Richmond, her great grandchildren, Ethan and Xander Bailey, Eden (Josh) Gomer, Morgan Bailey, Kiera Hickerson, Olivia, Nolan and Gavin Foster, Ethan and Claire Foster, Sawyer and Grayson Dudley, 4 great great grandchildren, her sister in law, Jean Piselli, and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, Dolly was preceded in death by her brother and sister in law, Frank and Anna Piselli, their daughter Mary Lynn Piselli, her brother Louis Piselli, and her in laws on the Bailey side: Bert (Ruth) Bailey, Donald (Doris) Bailey, Robert (Joane) Bailey, and Helen (Clare) Wilson. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Ionia, on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, at 11am, with Fr. Tom Brown officiating. Relatives and friends may meet with family immediately preceding the Mass starting at 10am. A luncheon will follow mass in Apostles Hall in the school. Interment will be in the Spring at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Country Living AFC, 7884 Emery Road, Portland, MI, 48875 or Ionia Area Hospice, PO Box 124, Ionia, MI, 48846. Envelopes will be available at church and the funeral home. The family requests that we continue to pray for a prevention or cure for Dementia.
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