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Evelyn

Bailey, 100

Evelyn passed away Dec. 27, 2019, at the Garden at Orchard Ridge assisted living in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Evelyn was born Oct. 28, 1919, in Hingham, Mont., and was raised in an 8-by-10-foot tar paper shack on her family homestead near Rudyard, Mont. The homestead was located on the barren, windswept prairie of northern Montana. In those days, there was no running water or electricity. The prairie had no trees, so part of Evelyn’s job was to gather cow pies and coal, which provided fuel for the stove. Water was carried by hand in buckets from a neighbor’s well, approximately one mile away. Times were certainly tough.

After a few years, the family left the homestead due to lack of water, poor crops and taxes they could not pay. The family moved into a small rental house in Rudyard and later opened a restaurant called Dedics Café, which was their last name.

Evelyn met a young man, Cy Bailey, who had come to Rudyard from Coeur d’Alene to work as a meat cutter at the local grocery store. The couple eventually moved to Coeur d’Alene, where they opened a meat market and named it Cy’s meats. The market, located on the southeast corner of Fifth Street and Walnut Avenue, contained 600 frozen food lockers. Through hard work and very long hours, the shop was successful and very well-known. Cy sold the business in 1968 and retired.

Cy and Evelyn have two surviving sons, Douglas and Ken Bailey, both of Coeur d’Alene; and a daughter Joyce Bailey Vannoy of Spokane.

Evelyn was a lifetime active member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Coeur d’Alene. She always said she had been blessed throughout her life. Hard work, perseverance and a strong faith in God carried her through her 100 years.

A celebration of Evelyn’s life will take place at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 812 N. Fifth St., Coeur d’Alene.

Arrangements provided by Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene. Please visit Evelyn’s online guest book at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.