Patricia “Patsy” Blue Bailey of Aberdeen passed away peacefully at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst on Saturday, November 8, 2025 (her 87th birthday), surrounded by loved ones.
Patricia Joyce Blue was born in Aberdeen on November 8, 1938, to the late Herbert Clifton Blue Sr. and the late Gala Nunnery Blue. She was raised in Aberdeen and graduated from Aberdeen High School in 1957. She was on the girls’ basketball team, yearbook staff, newspaper staff, and was senior class president. She attended Queens College in Charlotte and Women’s College in Greensboro. While working at the miniature golf course at Aberdeen Lake, Patsy met David Ernest Bailey of Southern Pines. Patsy and David were married at Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen in 1959.
They then moved to Pittsburgh where Patsy worked for Western Psychiatric Hospital. They returned to live in Aberdeen when David was stationed at Ft. Bragg while he was in the U.S. Army. They next settled in Derwood, Maryland, where they lived for over 50 years. Patsy worked for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in various administrative roles and retired from the NIH as the Administrative Officer for the Division of Research Grants in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. In 2018, Patsy and David returned to their beloved home state of North Carolina and lived in Aberdeen.
Patsy was an amazing mother to her children and a doting grandmother to her grandchildren. Patsy loved to travel and especially enjoyed her trips to Italy, England, and the American Southwest. She inherited her mother’s green thumb and created beautiful gardens at her homes. She had gifts for storytelling and writing, interests sparked in her youth while working at her father’s newspaper, The Sandhill Citizen, in Aberdeen. She was an active member of Community Bible Study and Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland.
In addition to her parents, Patsy was predeceased by her brother, H. Clifton Blue Jr.; sister, Beth Blue Willett; and sister-in-law, Lynn Frye Blue.
Patsy is survived by her husband of over 66 years, David Ernest Bailey; four children: David Eldon Bailey of Raleigh, Alison Joyce Bailey Johnson of Wake Forest, Barbara Blue Bailey Puryear of St. Augustine, FL, and Robert Stewart Bailey (Kathy) of Wake Forest; grandchildren: Alexandra Bailey of Selma, Camden Bailey of Garner, Matthew (Brittany) Johnson of Dallas, TX, Meredith Johnson and Morgan Johnson of Wake Forest, Tyler Parker of St. Petersburg, FL, Colby Puryear and Bailey Puryear of St. Augustine, FL, David A. C. Bailey of Greenville, NC, Lauryn Bailey of Chapel Hill, Aaron Bailey and Elizabeth Bailey of Wake Forest; four great-granddaughters: McKenna, Maddie, Myla, and Melanie of Selma; brother, John L. Blue of Pinebluff; sister-in-law, Kay Blue of Pinebluff; brother-in-law, Max Willett of Cary; and many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Alzheimer’s research at Bright Focus Foundation, 22512 Gateway Center Drive, Clarksburg, MD 20871 or www.brightfocus.org
A funeral service will be held at Boles Funeral Home in Southern Pines on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 2 p.m. A private burial will be held at a later time.
Online condolences may be left at: www.bolesfuneralhome.com
Services are entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines.
