Lucille Bailey held two jobs that would have been coveted by any bona fide fan of the Atlanta Braves or Atlanta Falcons.
For four years, she worked part time in ticket sales for the Braves. Then she was hired as a full-timer in ticket sales for the Falcons, where she worked her way up to assistant ticket director. Customer service was her forte.
"Just by dealing with her, she could leave people with a warm impression," said a grandson, David McLaughlin of Rome. "And that was the case regardless of what was going on on the field. Just a hard worker."
Weeks ago, Mrs. Bailey of Peachtree City, and formerly of Jonesboro, went to the doctor for what she thought was shortness of breath. Instead they found cancer in the brain, lung, liver and abdomen. She died from complications of the diseases Thursday at her apartment, where she had moved recently. She was 83.
A funeral is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at Jonesboro Baptist Church. Mowell Funeral Home of Fayetteville is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Bailey was born in Enoree, S.C., but lived most of her young adult life in Waycross. She married Minor Bailey, now deceased, and the couple moved to metro Atlanta. Here, she oversaw the cafeteria at Jonesboro High in Clayton County before she joined the Braves organization.
In the mid-1980s, she was named Falcons assistant ticket director, a post she held for about a decade. She received a Falcons ring for her 25th year of service and retired in 1996.
Mrs. Bailey was on hand when Fulton County Stadium gave way to the Georgia Dome. She witnessed the exploits of prime-time players such as Hank Aaron, Steve Bartkowski and Deion Sanders.
"She was one of the few women to have a job like that," said Emilie McLaughlin of Jonesboro, Mrs. Bailey eldest daughter. "She was a big sports fan all her life, and that was a dream job. And we used her season tickets, so we loved it. She said it was exciting, that she learned a lot and that she met a lot of interesting people. It expanded her horizons."
David McLaughlin remembered working in ticket operations one summer as a teen thanks to his grandmother. She helped get him the job.
"She was close to 60 then, and she would work harder than people half her age," he said. "Everybody had a good relationship with her."
Mrs. McLaughlin said she never thought of her mother as a senior citizen because she embraced life. She stayed active with the Saints Alive seniors groups at First Baptist Church of Jonesboro.
"She told one of my nieces, ‘Don't lose your sparkle,' " her daughter said. "She never seemed old even though she was 83."
Additional survivors include another daughter, Patrice Lewis of Birmingham; a son, Minor Bailey of Sharpsburg; a brother, Kenneth George of Valdosta; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
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