THE VILLAGES, FLA. — Longtime bakery engineer Neil Bailey passed away recently after a long illness. He was 69.

Mr. Bailey served as 1995/96 chairman of the American Society of Baking and served for many years on the society’s ANSI Z50 Safety and Sanitation Committee.

After a brief career in law enforcement, Mr. Bailey joined the baking industry, where he held many roles in operations and engineering at Earthgrains, Sara Lee and Bimbo Bakeries USA.

He was also vice president of engineering and technical services at The Bakery Cos., now called Crown Bakeries, before retiring in 2020.

Melody Bailey, his wife of 45 years, remembered her husband as kind, loyal, patient and dedicated to his work.

“He was the kind of man that would stop to help a turtle cross the road,” she said. “He loved fixing anything, even if it was not the conventional way. He loved teaching people not in a know-it-all way, but in a way that would help them.”