Bailey Macewan

Bailey MacEwan was born on January 31, 1951 in Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada.  He passed away peacefully on September 23, 2024 in Jacksonville, Florida at Community Hospice, McGraw Center.  He was 73 years old.

Bailey always had a great love of the outdoors, spending many years off-shore fishing, boating, snorkeling and diving with one of his favorite destinations being the Florida Keys.  His claim to fame would have to be winning first place in the 1998 Greater Jacksonville Kingfish tournament with his daughter Kelly and son-in-law Bian.

He also loved bird watching, and especially loved banding birds of prey with his father-in-law and mother-in-law during the Fall migration at Hawk Cliff, located in southwestern Ontario on the north shore of Lake Erie.

Bailey retired in 2011 after 40 years working as a Project Manager for an international automotive logistics company.  When his wife Fran retired in 2016, they bought a 27 foot travel trailer and took off for amazing new adventures, traveling and camping all over the US and Canada, and making too many wonderful memories to count.  They had the time of their lives.

Bailey is missed so very much by his loving wife of 53 years, Fran, his children Christopher (Kim) MacEwan and Kelly (Bian) Bushloper, his grandchildren Malcolm MacEwan and Grace MacEwan, Madison (Elijah) Crain, Cameron Bushloper and Nicholas Bushloper.  He will also be greatly missed by his brother-in-law Don Fowler (Lisa), sister-in-law Linda Mulawka (Gary) both in London, Ontario and by all of his nieces and nephews, particularly his nieces Kimberly Compton (Turner Valley, Alberta), Liz Lawrence (Dorset, UK) and his nephew Neil MacEwan (Sue),(Sault Ste Marie, Ontario), who were more like siblings, along with his great and great-great nieces and nephews in Canada and the UK.

Because Bailey’s life and career took him all over the world, he also leaves behind many close friends and former co-workers in Canada, the US, the UK, Europe and Brazil.  And as a much beloved member of Southside Christian Church in Jacksonville, his entire church family are missing that familiar figure rolling in on a Sunday morning and parking his wheelchair right up at the front of the sanctuary, with Fran by his side.

Bailey was predeceased by his parents, Hector and Barbara MacEwan, his brother Malcolm MacEwan (Grace) and his sisters, Mary Claire Matthews (Eric) and Barbara Ann Compton (Edgar).

A memorial service and celebration of life will be held on Sunday, November 10 at 3:00pm at Southside Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.

In lieu of flowers, Bailey would have been honored to have donations made in his memory to Southside Christian Church or to Hawk Cliff (send c/o Cyril Crocker, 11 Barrett Crescent, St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada N5R 6M1).  Friends and family in Canada may also do an e-transfer for Hawk Cliff to [email protected] .

Special thanks to everyone at Brooks Rehab where Bailey found a whole new community of good friends and dedicated and loving therapists who encouraged and supported him over the 2 ½ years he worked so courageously to get stronger and try to walk again.  He’s walking now!