Obituary of Eugene Bailer

July 8, 2023

Eugene Michael Bailer passed away peacefully on July 8, 2023. Eugene was born in the Wakefield section of the Bronx in 1939 and grew up in a 700-foot apartment with his parents Joseph and Helen and sisters Geraldine, Veronica, and Marjorie, and his brother Raymond. He was the youngest of the five children and named after Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli, who became Pope Pious XII the day he was born. In high school, Eugene became an accomplished rower, which he always talked proudly of. Eugene had always wanted to be a farmer and worked several summers as a farmer's apprentice. He was a devout Catholic and, after graduating high school, took an oath to God and became a Trappist Monk in Saint Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. After deciding to leave the monastery, Eugene attended college in Helena, Montana, then returned to New York City. There he met the love of his life, Harriet, at a folk-dance evening at Columbia University. Their first date was a bike ride to the Atlantic Highlands, where they barely caught the last train back to New York City. He became a NYC cab driver, enjoying and exploring the city streets. He later matriculated at City College and received a degree in Geology. He became a geotechnical engineer working on construction sites and, as he would say, “playing in the dirt all day.” He loved biking and always talked about his bike riding trip around Newfoundland. He also had a real love of trains, watching them and collecting model trains, and going to train shows. Eugene had a spirit of adventure that he shared with everyone.

He is survived by his loving wife Harriet, married for 55 years; his daughter Sari and her husband Craig Weinberg; his son Gabriel and his wife Anna; his grandchildren Rachel, Miles, and Josephine; his sister Geraldine and countless nieces, nephews and friends.

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