Shelby Gene Bailey (1941 – 2026)

Shelby Gene Bailey, 85, of Front Royal, Virginia, passed away on Friday, June 12, 2026.

Shelby Gene Bailey

Born on February 24, 1941, in Pine Creek, West Virginia, he was the son of the late Isaac Homer Bailey and Gladys (Goldie) Bailey Foster.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Homer Isaac Bailey, Jr., and Leslie Nelson Bailey; and two sisters, Ethelene Hall and Elizabeth Harrison.

Shelby was a dedicated law enforcement officer, serving first with the US Capitol Police, then the Metropolitan Police Department, and later with the Fairfax County Police Department for 25 years before retiring. He then worked for the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles for 20 years before his second retirement. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sandra Sue (Jenkins) Bailey; his brother, Earl Jackson Bailey of Charleston, West Virginia; two sons, Christopher Todd Bailey and his wife, Marlene, and Shannon Patrick Bailey; three daughters, Melissa Dawn Krise and her husband, Scott, Lisa Nicole Bailey, and Jennifer Leslie Grimmell and her husband, Mark; eleven grandchildren; and twelve great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Walnut Grove Freewill Baptist Church in Chauncey, West Virginia. Interment will follow at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Pecks Mill, West Virginia. Pallbearers will include Scott Krise, Zachary Krise, Justin Harshman, Adam Bailey, Jacob Bailey, and Cole Grimmell.

There will be a celebration of life at the home of Arnold and Debra Meadows in Cow Creek, West Virginia, at 2:30 p.m. following the interment.

Memorial flowers may be sent to Walnut Grove Freewill Baptist Church, Chauncey, West Virginia, in honor and remembrance of our loved one.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Collins Funeral Home, Inc. of Switzer, WV.