William Charles Bailey

On December 17, 2024, William Charles Bailey, age 90, passed away peacefully at his home in Millcreek, Utah. While he was born in Winnemucca, Nevada to Rhea Ferre and William Bailey on December 4th, 1934, he would make Salt Lake City his childhood home before the age of two. Tragically Bill lost his father to a brain tumor when he was the tender age of four. His mother, with remarkable strength, raised him, his younger brother Ferrell, and his sister Joan, instilling in Bill a resilience that would define his life.

Bill attended Granite High School where he was elected as Sophomore Class President and then Junior Class Secretary in addition to playing on the All-State baseball team as catcher. He graduated in 1953, and entered the University of Utah to pursue an undergraduate degree in Philosophy as well as joining the Air Force ROTC.

In January of 1954 he chose to accept the call to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Northwestern States Mission, in Billings, Montana. Upon returning he threw his energy back into his goal of completing his education. He was an active member and president of Pi Kappa Alpha, a social fraternity, as an undergraduate followed by membership in the legal fraternity, Delta Phi during Law School at the University of of Utah. Despite graduating from the U of U Law School in 1961 and passing the bar in October that same year, his career would have to wait as he was drafted into the Army, moving across country to train at Fort Benning, in Georgia. He served with distinction as a Tactical Officer at Officers Candidate School and was a Brigade S1 Officer.

After his military service in Georgia, his law degree would be put to use in an unexpected way. He chose to begin working as a joint partner with a friend for Mount Olympus Bottled Water, Inc. This pathway turned into a lifelong pursuit, with Bill becoming company President in 1974, and eventually acquiring the company as it’s sole owner in 1982. Under his leadership, the company flourished, leading to the creation of Water and Power Technologies.

With his goals of education and career now firmly established he would entertain the idea of marriage, even though he had dated and danced his way through all the prior years. Bill met Shirley Marie Cutler while they were both tour guides on Temple Square and then on June 21, 1967 they were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah. They started a family that very year, moving into their first home around the day their first daughter was born. However family life did not slow him down as he served over the course of his life on a wide array of local boards.

With the pivot to business management, Bill fully immersed himself into the bottled water industry. He would serve from 1975-1996 on the Board of Directors for the American Bottled Water Association, and as the Associations President in 1978 and again in 1990. He served as the Chairman of the Government Relations Committee for 17 years, testified before Congress and was instrumental in in getting the Bottled Water provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act passed in 1996. In addition he was Chairman of the Past President Advisory Council for the years 1979, 1980, 1990, and 1991. Bill was honored to received the industry’s first Award of Excellence from IBWA in 1987 and the first Award of Merit from IBWA in 1995. Other honors included being inducted into the Beverage World Hall of Fame in 1989 and serving as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Drinking Water Research Foundation, and the Utah Food Industry Insurance Trust.

Bill remained very active in church and civic anffairs throughout his life serving in 1968 as President of the PKA Alumni chapter until 1973. He was also member of Salt Lake Rotary and served as Secretary from 1999-2000. Other areas of service held more meaning for his family personally such as Chairman of Oakridge Elementary Advisory Council, the Nominating Committee for Churchill Junior High and Skyline High School Advisory Board. He also served on the Utah Alumni Board, University of Utah Presidents Club, University of Utah Fine Arts Advisory Board, Friends of KUED Channel 7 Board, the U of U Music Department Committee and the Crimson Club.

Classical music had been a part of his childhood and Bill developed an abiding love for it as well as many of the Fine Arts, endowing the Mount Olympus String Quartet at the University of Utah’s Music Department, and providing scholarships in perpetuity. He served as a Utah Opera Trustee, and Chairman of the Board from 1999-2002, becoming a lifetime Trustee of the Utah Symphony and Opera after facilitating the Utah Symphony/ Opera merger.

Throughout his life Bill was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as a High Councilor, twice as a Bishop and as a Stake President over the University 2nd Stake, but was most in his element teaching Gospel Doctrine.

Bill enjoyed being active. When his sons were young he could be found coaching their little league baseball and basketball games. Those who knew him well throughout his life would have spent time with him playing baseball, basketball, fishing, swimming, snow and water skiing and on biking trips to various places around the world with his “Dang Good Bikers” group. But above all, his one true passion was playing tennis all year round into his 80’s.

Bill is survived by his wife, Shirley Marie Cutler Bailey; his children, Ann Nord (Brett); Jill Clifford (Mark); William Bailey (Barbara); J. Brandon Bailey (Ashley); 15 grandchildren; his sister, Joan Lindsay. He is preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Ferrell Bailey.

Funeral services will be Saturday, December 28, 2024 at 11:00 AM at the Olympus Cove Ward, 4407 S Fortuna Way, Millcreek, Utah 84124. An evening viewing for Bill will be held Friday, December 27, 2024 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM and Saturday, December 28, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 10:45 AM, all at the church.

Interment: Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park, 3401 Highland Dr, Millcreek, Utah 84106.