Wanda Carol (May) Bailey passed away, peacefully, on Saturday, August 3, 2024, following a long illness.  She will be missed by her family and a host of friends and loved ones.  Wanda was born on December 14, 1950, in Houston, Texas to Gerald and Thelma May.  She was the second child of five to be born into her family.  Wanda grew up in Brooke Smith, a near Northside Houston neighborhood, bustling with a post-World War II Baby Boom.  Emmanuel Baptist Church was the Protestant center of family life in that neighborhood, and Wanda and her siblings were an integral part of that community.

Wanda attended Browning Elementary, Hogg Junior High, and Reagan Senior High (Heights High).  As a high-school senior, Wanda participated in Vocational Office Education and began working half of each school day in an administrative position.  Following graduation, Wanda was on her way with a career at Prudential Insurance, driving fast sports cars, dressing like Marlo Thomas in "That Girl" and juggling life's demands at full capacity.  She married Kenneth Bailey and birthed and reared a daughter, Rebecca, the joy and delight of her life.  Rebecca and her husband, Vernon Hemenway, gave Wanda three grandchildren:  Emily (Hemenway) Hiley, Allie-Grace (Hemenway) Thomas, and Luke Hemenway.  If daughter Rebecca was the joy and delight of Wanda's life, her grandchildren were a lifelong celebration of that delight.  Following a career at Prudential, Wanda made a shift to the practice of law when she joined ExxonMobil's Law Department where she served as a Paralegal and formed many lifelong friends.  Wanda retired from ExxonMobil in 2018.

Wanda loved her family, her grandparents, parents, stepmother, sisters, brother, daughter, and grandchildren, foremost on this earth, and she supported them, emotionally and tangibly through any need.  She passionately loved and supported her friends and extended family.  To be known and cared for by Wanda was truly a joyful experience.  She had a gift for lifting up those in her presence with humor and compassion.  In good times and in bad, Wanda had the ability to reach for and find life's comedy.  Her wit and resolve were truly her superpowers, gifts from the God she adored and worshipped.

Wanda was a granddaughter, daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt and friend.  She loved and was loved in return.  She will be remembered as a person of substance, someone who made a positive difference in the lives of those in her sphere.  On August 3, Wanda left the world a little better for having lived her faith in God, for 73 years.  She has now gracefully taken her rest, where sorrow and pain are no more.

Wanda is preceded in death by her grandparents, Mr. & Mrs. Weldon Albertson, parents, Gerald & Thelma May, uncle, Weldon Albertson, sister, Debbie May, brother, Christopher May, and nephew, Stacy Moore.

Wanda is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Rebecca (Bailey) Hemenway and husband Vernon Hemenway, and grandchildren, Emily (Hemenway) Hiley and husband John Hiley, Allie-Grace (Hemenway) Thomas and husband Preston Thomas, and Luke Hemenway.  She is survived by her sister Sharon (May) Pace and husband Gary Pace, sister Pam McDaniel, nieces Tracey Lynn Nulisch, and Stephanie (McDaniel) Stone and husband Grayson Stone, nephews Darrell May and wife Gina, and Chad McDaniel along with numerous great nieces and nephews, and a host of friends.

In keeping with Wanda's wishes, there will be no public services. A private ceremony will take place to celebrate and honor her life.

Into Your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend Your servant Wanda.  Acknowledge, we humbly beseech You, a sheep of Your own fold, a lamb of Your own flock, a sinner of Your own redeeming.  Receive her into the arms of Your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light.  Amen