Johnny Fletcher Bailey Sr.

Johnny Fletcher Bailey Sr., the youngest son and child of Radford and Delia Hill Bailey, was born February 20, 1933, in Johnston County, North Carolina.

Fletcher was delivered by Dr. Grady of Kenly. He was the youngest of 11 children, including Annie Bailey Narron, Esker Bailey Johnson, Sallie Pearl Bailey Davis, Beulah Bailey, Rector Bailey Boykin, Sudie Bailey Sullivan, Archie Radford Bailey, Willie "Bill" Artis Bailey and Delia Lois Bailey Rose.

Childhood

Fletcher, a sensitive child, learned about death at an early age.

Older sister Sally shared these words of 28-month-old Fletcher at his father's burial in 1935, "Mommy, don't let them put dirt on Pa like that!"

Fletcher learned responsibility at an early age and even as a small boy, not even old enough to attend school, was expected to help older brother Archie with farm work. Among his jobs were pulling tobacco plants, setting them out, hoeing, driving the mule for trucking tobacco to the barn to be strung, handing tobacco, carrying sticks of green tobacco to the barn for curing, toting sticks of cured tobacco, and helping to get it ready for market. The entire process took months and sometimes all the tobacco had not yet been cropped by the time school started. Preparing it for market also took months. Fletcher felt the heavy burden of helping his mama on his small shoulders.

Fletcher was soon working along with Archie before he started to school. He attended Stancil's Chapel School. Fletcher never liked the confinement of school; he was a "free spirit." Delia encouraged him, but before he completed grammar school, he stopped going to school to help Archie farm. Delia had mixed feelings because she knew Archie needed Fletcher's help to keep the farm going.

Fletcher, though young, was a hard and dependable worker. His favorite mule was Old Maud, who was trustworthy and smart. Together they worked hard plowing and readying the land for tobacco, the main money crop.

Religious Influence

Fletcher grew up attending Stancil's Chapel Free Will Baptist Church and recalled his mama hosting Saturday night prayer meetings in her home. This early introduction to Christian values influenced the way he lived his life and treated people.

Meeting Vickie

Farmers swapped work with each other; this was the custom, neighbors helping neighbors. During the summers, Fletcher worked somewhere in tobacco every day. While swapping work, he met his future wife, Vickie Jean Sullivan. The attraction was immediate.

Marriage and Family

Fletcher was 25 when he and Vickie eloped on Nov. 6, 1958, in his 1954 Ford Galaxy to South Carolina. Dillon was a popular marriage location with no waiting period or blood tests. Over the years, many family members were married there.

Vickie, the daughter of Robert Benjamin Sullivan and Lou Mettie Crocker, was born April 1, 1944, in Wilson County, North Carolina. Robert was a farmer and the son of a farmer, William Henderson Sullivant and Effie Minnie Ward from Old Field Township, Wilson County, North Carolina.

They returned to Fletcher's home near Middlesex. Delia welcomed her new daughter-in-law.

Fletcher and Vickie welcomed three children: Sandra Jean Bailey, Johnnie Fletcher Bailey Jr., and Delia Ann Bailey. They always referred to Delia affectionately as "Big Mama."

Career and Skills

Fletcher had many skills. He farmed tobacco, wheat, corn, and soybeans. In the 1970s and 1980s, he did custom farm work and had a successful combining business for wheat, soybeans, and corn. Among his customers were cousins, Donell and Glenn Stancil, sons of Alvin Stancil, the brother of his grandmother, Tempy Ann Stancil Hill.

Fletcher kept fox hunting dogs. He took his dogs to hunting trials and won many trophies. Nothing was sweeter to his ears than hearing his dogs run fox or deer.

Daughter Sandra fondly recalled family excursions to the mountains, White Lake, Kerr Lake, and attending NASCAR races in Charlotte, Rockingham, and Darlington.

Family traditions were important to Fletcher and Vickie. In the 60s and 70s, family and friends gathered on Christmas morning for delicious breakfasts of pancakes and waffles served with Tiger Butter at Sambo's restaurant in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Vickie's Christmas dinner was a special event as the entire family gathered. Afterwards, Fletcher treated them to a fireworks show. A kid at heart, he laughed and delighted in the show and had as much fun as the children. It was a treat to be a part of the festivities.

Fletcher used his skill as a bulldozer operator to provide extra money for his family.

Health Challenges

Fletcher's life changed in November of 1982. At only 49 years old, he had a stroke. He was making a good recovery when he suffered a heart attack the next year. Then in March 1988, he had successful open-heart surgery. Physical activities had to be curtailed but he fought to live a normal life. Farming seemed to be in his blood and he farmed on a very limited basis, growing beans and corn and planting a garden for Vickie.

When Fletcher's brother-in-law, Robert Cremo Sullivan, died in 1987, Fletcher and Vickie immediately stepped in to help raise Robert's daughter, Anna Renee Sullivan, who was only 5. They provided a loving and nurturing home and their relationship was like parent and child.

Fletcher was also a proud grandfather to Mitchell Benson, Justin Wagner, April Wagner, Stephen Cash Toton, and Olivia Toton.

Fletcher continued to live life to the fullest until his passing at 79 on November 28, 2012, in Wake Medical Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is buried in the Mount Zion Free Will Baptist Church Cemetery.

Fletcher was preceded in death by an infant brother, Beulah Bailey, Annie Bailey Narron, Tempy Esker Bailey Johnson, Archie Radford Bailey, Willie "Bill" Artis Bailey, Rector Bailey Boykin, Sallie Pearl Bailey Davis, and Delia Lois Bailey Rose.

His only surviving sister, Sudie Bailey Sullivan, died January 25, 2013.

Fletcher's wife, Vickie Jean Sullivan Bailey, continued to live in their home near Middlesex after his passing and remained a steady, loving presence for their children and grandchildren. Vickie died peacefully at home on September 3, 2025, at the age of 81.

A devoted wife, mother, and friend, she found her greatest joy in caring for her family and gathering them around her table, where her cooking and warm spirit made everyone feel welcome. She worshipped faithfully at Mount Zion Original Free Will Baptist Church and lived a life marked by kindness, gentleness, and quiet strength. Her legacy of love endures in the hearts of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Vickie is buried at Mount Zion Original Free Will Baptist Church Cemetery.