Reta Dell Bailey, 55
Reta Dell Bailey, 55, went home to her Lord and Savior on Feb. 23, 2009, at home in Nampa, Idaho, after a courageous 11-year battle with breast cancer.
She was born in Sandpoint, Idaho, on Aug. 9, 1953, to Don and Leah Anne O’Neill Lane. She graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1971 and attended Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa.
She lived throughout the Northwest and Mesa, Ariz., but eventually came back home to the Treasure Valley. She worked at various food establishments before going to work for the semi conductor industry in Nampa and Arizona until retiring because of her health.
Marriage to Sam Robison, provided her with two sons and a marriage to Eldon Boyer provided additional life experiences but ”the third time is a charm” claim held true when she married William Bailey on Oct. 14, 1996, at Lake Tahoe, Nev. He was her loving support and caregiver during her battle with cancer.
On Sundays after church, you always knew where she could be found, being a life long Green Bay Packer fan (until Favre left). She loved Idaho sports while her other interests included reading, sewing and collecting southwest memorabilia. She loved caring for her grandsons and instilled in them, as well as her sons, a fighter’s will which could only be passed down from a mother.
She loved life and people, hated discrimination and stood up for the underdog. She was very outgoing and very outspoken, you never had to question where you stood with her. She was a caring individual and was known to give comfort and counsel to individuals while they were each sitting and receiving chemo treatments.
She had a strong Christian faith, was a member of the Grangeville Church of the Nazarene and attended Bowmont Community Church of the Brethren.
Survivors include her husband, Bill of Nampa; mother, Leah Anne Lane of Grangeville; mother-in-law, Estela Bailey of Fresno, Calif.; sons, Richard (Ryk) Robison and Jackie of McKinleyville, Calif., Samuel (Sam) of Caldwell, William Bailey Jr. of Valrico, Fla., and Steven Bailey of Fresno, Calif.; daughter-in-law, Irene Robison of Nampa; grandsons, Michael, Sammy and Tyler Robison of Caldwell; brothers, Keith Lane of Caldwell, Terrill and Valory Lane of Boise, Mark Lane of Nampa and Jay Lane of Pendleton, Ore.; brothers-in-law, Ralph and Paul Bailey; sisters-in-law, Helen Bailey and Carol Pacheco, all of Fresno; nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and a lot of friends.
She was preceded in death by her father, Don Lane, in 1995; and father-in-law, Michael Bailey, in 1998.
Alsip Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements and she has been cremated. Memorial service will be held at Bowmont Community Church of the Brethren, rural Nampa, with Wes Waggoner presiding on February 28 at 1:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family strongly suggests donations to breast cancer research or to Bowmont Community Church building fund.