Friends and family in Bracknell and Crowthorne have paid tribute to former teacher and counsellor Jeanne Bailey, who has died aged 77 at Royal Berkshire Hospital after a long battle with dementia.
Her daughter, Olivia Bailey, elected to parliament in 2024, paid a public tribute in her maiden speech, calling her: 'an English teacher who would always fight the corner of even the most badly behaved pupils and who instilled in me the determination captured in her favourite book that you never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view'. She added: "My political flame, sparked at school, burns most fiercely as I hold the hand of my mum, being taken from me by Alzheimer's while being let down by the state."
Born in Lincolnshire, Jeanne read English at the University of Leeds and taught at Windsor Girls School, where she became head of the pastoral service and Deputy Head Teacher. Former pupil Kay Devonshire-Murphy said: "She meant so much to me. She made English fascinating. Her expertise blew me away as did her absolute compassion and care for every one of us."
In the 1970s she trained as a counsellor with Number 22, a low-cost service for young people and adults in Windsor, Maidenhead and Slough, and was praised as a ''brilliant' youth counsellor who often went above and beyond.
Jeanne met Maidenhead Police Inspector Roy Bailey on the Number 22 executive in 1982. They married on August 3, 1985, moved to Crowthorne in 1986 and hosted the local Labour Party from their dining room. She also worked with the Trussell Trust and as a Samaritans counsellor.
Conservative councillor Tina McKenzie-Boyle, who knew the family locally, said: "Roy and Olivia will have the support of their wide network of friends during this very trying time."
Jeanne leaves her husband Roy, daughter Olivia, MP for Reading West and Mid-Berkshire, and two grandsons. Her funeral will be at St Paul's Church, Wokingham on Friday June 12; the family have asked for donations to Number 22.
Jeanne Margaret Bailey: August 9, 1948 - May 18, 2026
Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter
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