Former state Treasurer Larrie Bailey has died.
Bailey, 87, served as Treasurer from 1976 to 1984 and then was elected to the statewide position again in 1990 — in a special election following the impeachment of A. James Manchin. He was elected to a full term in 1992.
“I just loved seeing him, and I loved talking with him,” said Natalie Tennant, a Fairmont native who served as Secretary of State, speaking on WAJR Radio.
“Larrie Bailey was kind of a quirky guy, and I say that with all the affection in the world,” Tennant said, referring to Bailey’s knowledge and experience that allowed him to expound with great detail on the issues of the day. “He would just go on and tell me a little bit of history.”
He died on Friday. His obituary did not cite a cause of death.
Bailey’s son John, a Charleston city councilman, died earlier this year after a tree fell onto the car he was driving.
“We’re all still reeling from that,” Tennant said.
John “Larrie” Bailey was born in Weston and became a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. He returned to West Virginia and was elected to the House of Delegates to a seat representing Lewis County in 1960.
In 1964, his obituary notes, he was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives for the state’s 1st Congressional District. In 1996, he ran for governor rather than seek another term as Treasurer but did not win the Democratic nomination.
Visitation for Bailey is from noon to 3 p.m. and then 5 to 7 p.m. today at Ross Funeral Home in Fairmont. The funeral service is 11 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
“He served honorably, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family,” said the state’s current Treasurer, Riley Moore, today on WAJR.