Carole Bailey

1949-2016

Carole Sue, known to all as "Sue", died peacefully after a courageous battle with breast cancer. Sue was the last of three children born to Elize J. Bailey and Martha Sarah (nee Johnston) in Birmingham, Alabama. She is predeceased by her mother, father and sister Linda Faye. She is survived by her long-time partner for 40 years, Jo-Anne Robinson, her sister Cheryl Ann Dickens; nephews Woody Gallaway, Steve Gallaway (Heather); niece Caroline Doern (Aaron); great-niece Caliste Dober and very close family friends Hester Hussey, Dave Hussey and Doug Lambert. Sue always considered Jo-Anne's family her own. This included Jo-Anne's parents Lew and Jo Robinson, David Robinson and his wife Zonda Nellis, their daughter Alexandra Robinson and her husband Madhavan Sridhar, their daughter Maya Josephine Madhavan; Patricia St. Laurent and her husband, David St. Laurent, and their children Michael St. Laurent and Joanna St. Laurent.

Sue earned her bachelor's degree from Gallaudet University in 1975 and a master's degree from McDaniel College in 1976. Sue came to Canada from Maryland in August 1976, where she taught at Alberta College and the Alberta School for the Deaf in Edmonton for 32 years. Sue was one of the founders of Sign Language Instructors of Canada in 1982. She also became Canada's first manual communication specialist at the Alberta School for the Deaf in 1984. Sue was the first teacher to teach an accredited ASL course at the same school in North America in 1989.

Sue's most significant contribution was her over 20-year involvement in compiling and editing The Canadian Dictionary of ASL, which was printed in 2002. She played a major role in this project, working alongside Kathy Dolby, Hilda Campbell and Angela Stratiy. In 1988 Sue received the highest Honour from the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf that CCSD bestows. This Founder's Order of Honour is awarded once every seven to ten years to a deaf person who sacrifices untold time and energy to create a positive, lasting image of deaf people in Canada. Sue also was inducted into the CCSD's Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2001 Sue received the Alberta 2001 Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2003 Sue received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, along with a certificate, for her many years of distinguished service to the Deaf Community. Sue was included in the Canadian Who's Who, which is a collection of concise biographies of notable Canadians. She was also well known for her sense of humour and wit. After Sue's retirement in 2008, she moved to White Rock.

Special thanks to Dr. Perold, Dr. Sawhney and Dr. Ingledew for their great care. Also another special thanks to the Medical Interpreting Service for providing ASL interpreters, especially Dean Wiebe. All the excellent nurses from the White Rock Home Health are deeply appreciated as well. Families and friends will be notified about a celebration of life for Sue, and its date and time will be announced later. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Carole Sue Bailey Memorial Scholarship c/o Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf, 15 Mill Street Toronto, Ontario M5A 3R6.