Obituary of Eldon A. "Perk" Bailey

WEST COLUMBIA—Eldon A. “Perk” Bailey passed away on Friday, October 26, 2018 after an extended illness. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, October 31, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. in the Chapel at Thompson Funeral Home, Lexington, SC. Visitation will be from 12:00 noon until 1:45 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home, with Pastor David Ford, Northside Baptist Church, presiding. Burial will follow in Southland Memorial Gardens.

Perk was born in Greensboro, Alabama in 1936 to Earle A and Pearlye Mae Tucker Bailey.  He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Evelyn W. Bailey, son Mitchell A. Bailey and daughter Joy E. Bailey, and many nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by a son, James A. Bailey, and by Perks’ parents and twelve siblings. 

Perk served in the Navy aboard the USS Wasp during the Korean Conflict. He then studied Business and Accounting at Georgia State University in Atlanta while working in college textbook retailing, at which time he met and married Evelyn. They came to Columbia, SC, in 1961, to open the South Carolina Bookstore. Over time, he built it into multiple college book dealers in South Carolina and Georgia. He retired from retail after forty-two successful years in the college textbook business, and afterwards managed bookstore property.

Perk and Evelyn have been members of Northside Baptist Church since the early 1960s, eventually joining their Silver Saints singing ensemble. He was also a member of the Sinclair Masonic Lodge. He was an early supporter of the Honors College of the University of South Carolina, and its programs such as the “Adventures in Creativity” camp. Active in the Five Points and then Columbia Civitan Clubs since joining in 1996, Perk recruited fourteen members into Civitan, and served two terms as club president. He led the club to fundraising success as fruitcake project chair. His other civic and charitable contributions have been too numerous to mention. He also helped and mentored many young people in addition to his own children.

We will all miss Perk’s business acumen, his dry wit, and his tales of hometown Calvert, Alabama.  A generous man, he touched many lives. He also loved bluegrass music, singing, and dancing.  Bill’s Pickin’ Parlor was a favorite hangout.

Memorials may be made to Northside Baptist Church, 4347 Sunset Blvd, Lexington, SC 29072, or to Civitan International Research Center, One Civitan Place Birmingham, AL 35213.