A graveside committal service for Sylvia Grace Letteney Bailey, 81, wife of Rev. Russell H. Bailey, who died February 16, 2022, will be held Friday, May 6, 2022, at 2 p.m., at North Pittston (Putnam) Cemetery, Rt. 126, Pittston. Pastor Draa Mackey will officiate.

Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, Rockland.

(2/19/2022) Due to Friday’s predicted snowstorm, the service for Sylvia scheduled for Friday has been changed to Saturday, February, 26, 2022, at 12 p.m. (Noon), at Bayshore Baptist Church, Rt. 1, Lincolnville.

NORTHPORT — Sylvia Grace Letteney Bailey, 81, formerly of Northport, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, after a long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Sylvia was born in Gardiner, Maine on August 1, 1940, and was the daughter of Robert and Audrey Putnam Letteney. She grew up on the family farm and will be laid to rest in the family burial plot just across the street from her childhood home in Pittston. Sylvia graduated from Gardiner High School in 1957 and from Gorham State Teachers College in 1961.

She met the love of her life, Rev. Russell H. Bailey, after being introduced by their mutual friends Joe and Betsy Moody. Russell and Sylvia were married on August 7, 1965, and joyfully celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with friends and family in 2015.

Sylvia was a lifelong teacher, whether in her own classroom, as a frequent substitute teacher in the elementary schools in Rockland and West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, or in her Sunday School classes. She had a beautiful connection with every child she met. If Mrs. Bailey was ever your teacher, you can rest assured that she knew your name, what grade you were in, your birthday, and all your siblings’ names and birthdays too.

She was a woman of great faith and was a proud and dedicated Pastor’s Wife. Sylvia was a shining example of service to God and church leadership in all of her and Russ’s congregations over the years in Dexter and Ellsworth, Maine; Clayton, New Jersey; Rockland, Maine; West Bridgewater, Massachusetts; and finally in Northport and Lincolnville, Maine.

Sylvia loved to bake, sew, quilt, knit, crochet and all other kinds of needlework and she showed her love for family and friends with her delicious and beautiful creations. She was famous for her Whoopie Pies! She was also a dedicated historian – keeping detailed scrapbooks and photo albums, and carefully saving all her children’s papers, artwork and other memorabilia. Sylvia loved crossword puzzles and she was never far from one of her puzzle books in progress!

Besides her parents, Sylvia was predeceased by her brother Hollis Letteney and her sister Meredith Letteney.

Sylvia leaves behind her loving and devoted husband, Russell, as well as her children, Ellen F. Bailey of Portland, Bruce A. Bailey and his wife Kellie of Northport, and Robert D. Bailey and his wife Lynette Siragusa of New Jersey.

She also leaves behind four loving grandchildren, Hannah, Doyle, Giulia and Olivia; her sister Alice Kus and her husband Tom of Newport; a brother, Roger Letteney of Pittston; and a large and loving extended family of cousins, nieces and nephews and their children.

Friends and relatives are invited to visit, from Thursday, February 24, 2022, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland.

A funeral service will be held Friday, February 25, 2022, at 2 p.m., at Bayshore Baptist Church, 1835 U.S. 1, Lincolnville. Pastor Draa Mackey will officiate. For those unable to attend in person, a live-stream of Sylvia’s service will be available on her Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com. Please follow the link under Photos & Videos Tab then Watch Webcast.

A graveside committal will be announced in the spring at North Pittston Cemetery in Pittston.

To share a memory or story with Sylvia’s family, please visit their online Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Bayshore Baptist Church, P.O. Box 66, Lincolnville, ME 04849 or Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter, 383 U.S. Rt. 1, Suite 2C, Scarborough, ME 04074.