Martin Joseph Bailey

Martin Joseph Bailey, late of Weyburn, SK passed away on September 28, 2025 at the age of 80 years.

He was predeceased by his parents, Hyman and Celia Bailey.

Martin is survived by his wife, Carol Bjorklund; his son, David Bailey (Laura Stusiak) of Coesfeld, Germany and their children [Lillian Ilse Stusiak Bailey, Orson Alexander Stusiak-Bailey]; David’s mother, Beeke Bailey; his step-son, James (Lori) Bjorklund of Weyburn, SK and their children, Derek (Tara) Bjorklund of Valley, Nova Scotia [Piper and Beckham], Brendon (Lauren) Bjorklund of Weyburn, SK [Mason, Benjamin]; his sister, Ann Diner of Montreal, QC and her children, Janice Diner of Toronto, ON, Michael Diner of Vancouver, BC and Robert Diner of Montreal, QC and their families; as well as many cousins and other relatives.

Martin was born and raised in Montreal, along with his older sister Ann. Montreal is still home base for the larger family.  In childhood, he did all the usual things, including a short stint as a violinist at age ten.

While taking his Bachelor's degree in Montreal, he was the Folk Music Critic for the University paper.  Of course, that involved the banjo at that time.  But he soon turned to Classical Guitar, and his prize instrument was handmade in Portugal and bought in Switzerland while on a ski trip there.  He became quite skilled at playing the classical guitar, and it remained his best loved instrument.

After taking his Master's degree at the University of Maine, Martin moved to Ottawa to work for Statistics Canada.  There, he played with the Ottawa Classical Guitar Society.  One of his composer friends hand-wrote a guitar piece for Martin, which hangs in a frame on our wall to this day.
Some years later, Martin and his wife Beeke moved to Regina, where he took up a management position at Head Office SaskTel.  Their son David was born in Regina and spent his earliest years there.

David and his wife Laura, along with their children Lilli and Orson were ever top-of-mind.  Martin loved talking to them over the phone to Germany, which had now become their home.  He prized the visits to Vancouver when they came home to Canada to visit all the relatives.  At our home in Weyburn, Martin eagerly got up early every morning to await Lilli's  skype, where she had a practice session on her violin.  He was so proud of her music talent.  And he was delighted that the young Orson quickly became a skilled conversationalist before he even started school.  COVID prevented Martin's plan to visit their newest city of Coesfeld in Germany, but after that, the family came to visit Weyburn, so the kids could see where Grandad lived.  That visit was a highlight for us.

Martin and Carol had met at a Regina Natural History Society meeting and they have been birding ever since. When his working career ended, they turned "Adversity into Adventure."  Farm girl and city boy, Carol and Martin spent almost 40 years on the grassland of The Great Plains, all across southern Saskatchewan, from Redvers in the southeast over to the western Spangler Flats.  Carol surveyed the birds and the wildflowers and Martin did the same for butterflies and native grasses.  It was all on their own nickel, in Carol's "Darling Companion" truck.

At home in Weyburn, Martin took up the piano, with Carol as guide.  They took turns at the piano every day. Bach, Satie, Philip Glass, Arvo Part and so on. Carol was by now a retired Lutheran church organist, but Martin definitely had the superior piano touch.

Martin was a gifted writer.  Although all of his work positions required skilled business writing, his real joy was to write for himself.  Articles, books, poems, even bedtime stories for David as a little boy.  David and Laura had Martin's book privately published as a surprise for Martin's birthday one year.  What a treasure that compendium of family tales remains.
Martin loved intellectual conversations with everyone he met, including friends Pastor Ron Bestvater and Bishop Tom Collings.  Martin and friend John Whitell spent years walking the Golf Course together, with John's dog Shiloh bouncing through the cattails.  They found turtle eggs, snakes, butterflies galore, selections of frogs.  Whatever was possible to find, those two found it!

In town, Martin liked to walk all over Weyburn, on errands or for pleasure.  He carried on, until the requirement of a hip replacement stopped his rapid stride.  Alas, a stroke felled him, before he could walk again on a new hip.

"May His Memory Be A Blessing."

A Service of Remembrance will be held on Thursday, October 16, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. from RD Family Funeral Chapel, Weyburn, SK with Marjorie McLeod officiating.  Interment will follow at the Goodwater Cemetery, Goodwater, SK.

For family and friends so wishing, charitable donations in Martin’s memory may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Saskatchewan, Unit #26 ~ 1738 Quebec Avenue, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 1V9.