GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Debra Bailey, the former Steelcase Director of Corporate Global Relations and a Grand Rapids Community College trustee, died Monday at the age of 69 due to complications from cancer.
Deb worked for Steelcase for 19 years before she retired in June of 2018. She was also a well-respected community volunteer who had an impact on West Michigan in various roles.
Deb attended Grand Rapids Junior College before transferring to Western Michigan University. She later earned a master's degrees in counseling from WMU and in management from Aquinas College. Deb went on to return to GRCC as a vice chairperson for the board of trustees.
“Personally, I am a product of public institutions,” she said during her 2015 trustee campaign. “I neither had the grades nor the financial support to go directly to another institution. I know the important need GRCC fills for students financially, as well as personally and academically.”
Deb was appointed to the board in 2013 and was elected to a six-year term in 2015. In addition to serving as a trustee at GRCC, Deb also was on the governing boards of Aquinas College, Grand Rapids Student Advancement Foundation, Hospice of Michigan, Saint Mary’s Foundation, the YWCA-West Central Michigan, and Junior League of Grand Rapids.
“Our GRCC family is devastated by the loss of someone who was – and will remain – a shining example of the impact this college can have on a person and a community,” GRCC President Bill Pink said. “Deb Bailey was as kind as she was smart, passionate as she was brave. Her work touched many people, and we are all better for it. That’s a tremendous legacy, and the GRCC family will greatly miss Deb Bailey.”
Deb helped found the Gilda's Club of Grand Rapids and she received the first Valiant Victor Award from West Michigan Woman magazine in 2019 for her fight against breast cancer.
She was also named one of the 25 Most Influential Women in West Michigan by the Grand Rapids Business Journal.
"Deb was a tireless, positive force in the community,” said Dr. Kathryn Mullins, GRCC vice president of College Advancement and executive director of the GRCC Foundation. “Everything she did was focused around providing support and comfort for those who needed it most. She was a warm, kind person who shared her talents, expertise and friendship.”
More stories on 13 ON YOUR SIDE:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.