March 25, 2008
Julius
Bailey Tidmore, 62, lost his hard fought
battle with a very rare type of cancer
Wednesday night at his home in Oneonta.
He was surrounded by friends and family who
prayed and sang until his passing.
He had hoped to be able to drive up to
witness the Relay For Life® at the soccer
fields in Arab on April 18^th .
Bailey was
diagnosed with gall bladder cancer, a very
rare type in the US, on March 12, 2007. He
underwent surgery at UAB to remove the gall
bladder, but the surgeon determined that it
had spread into his common bile duct. The
cancer would eventually spread to his liver
and peritoneum.
His doctors at
UAB teamed up with oncologists at Vanderbilt
for more tests to determine whether he could
be considered for a clinical trial. The
clinical trial did not work
The first week
of January 2008, he spent 6 weeks in San
Antonio at the Cancer Research & Treatment
Center for another clinical trial. That
trial did not work either, and he returned
home to Oneonta.
Bailey was a well known
business man in Arab. He managed the
White's Auto Parts, Inc. store for his
father-in-law Roy White for 20 years until
it was sold in 1987. White's Auto
parts was located in the old Arab High
School building where Mink Creek is now
located.
After the business closed, he
began working for Charles Spurgeon, then
worked at Accutek for a number of years
until that company was sold. When he died,
he was the Production Coordinator at Sandvik
Medical Solutions in Arab. He was a
retired national Guardsman.
After moving from Arab he
built a house and lived in Oneonta on the
Tidmore family property near his mother who
lives in the 105 year old house where he has
born and raised. The home was built by
his great uncles.
He attended Oneonta schools.
He was the quarterback and pitcher for the
Oneonta High School teams, graduating in
1963. He attended technical school in
electronics for 2 years and then worked for
GE until he married Andreé White in June
1967.
He was a long-time member of
the Arab First United Methodist Church
having only recently moved his membership to
the Lebanon United Methodist Church in
Oneonta, where he attended church and will
be buried..
Mr. Bailey was
born August 10, 1945, the son of Rufus
Johnny and Herstene Tidmore. He was preceded in death by
his father.
Survivors
include: wife, Laura Jarmon Tidmore of
Oneonta; son and companion, Johnny Tidmore
(Marsha Mills) of Arab; daughter, Amanda
Tidmore of Nashville, TN; daughter,
Elizabeth Tidmore of Nashville, TN; step
daughter, Melissa "Lisa" Mitchell (Dorron)
of Guntersville; step son, Jeffery Farmer of
Arab; mother, Herstene Tidmore of Oneonta;
step grandchildren, Logan Farmer, Ryley
Farmer, Olivia Farmer and Devin Kay
Mitchell; brother, David Tidmore (Jean) of
Oneonta; sisters, Patsy Vickery (Don) of
Oneonta and Alethea McCreless (Jeff) of
Trussville; former spouse and mother of
children, Andreé White Walker of Arab; and a
host of nieces and nephews.
His son, Johnny Tidmore, said
his father had so many plans for the
property in Oneonta, after he retired.
The property includes Tidmore Mountain where
eagles nest during the summer. "God
must have needed help in Heaven to take him
so soon."
Johnny said that his dad
loved flowers and he would have preferred
flowers because he really liked funerals
with flowers, but anyone wishing to make a
donation to the American Cancer Society may
do so online by
clicking here.
Anyone wishing to send a card
to his wife, may mail it to Laura Tidmore,
200 Tidmore Lane, Oneonta, AL 35121.
Funeral Service was held
Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. at
Lebanon United Methodist Church,
925 Blount Co Hwy 42,
with burial in adjoining cemetery. Bro.
Michael Cornelius officiating
Pallbearers were Dean Wilson,
Jody Tidmore, Jimbo Butts, John Dickerson,
Jeff McCreless, Conrad Nix, Norman Murphree,
Ronnie Allred and Dorron Mitchell. Lemley
Funeral Home Chapel directing. Honorary
Pallbearers are the Oneonta High School
Class of 1963 football team.
