The Newspaper of Record since 1878
Former Globe resident Ralph Bailon, Jr. died at his residence in the small coastal town of Yachats, Oregon on Feb. 28, 2017. He was 70 years old. Battling Multiple Sclerosis for decades, he succumbed to complications of the disease. By his side, at his final hour, was his loving sweetheart, Mary McKee.
Ralph was born on April 2, 1946 in Morenci, Arizona to Ralph Bailon, Sr. and Doris Mary Longoria. He spent his youth in Globe, and was a graduate of the local beauty school, then located in the Cobre Valley Plaza in Central Heights. He then opened his own beauty and styling salon on North Broad Street. His father, Ralph, Sr. had a shoe repair shop also on North Broad Street. If anyone had style, it was Ralph. He was a talented stylist and a natural at anything decorative. He lived for years in an apartment he rented from Shortie Gant above Upton’s Café. Not only was it beautifully appointed but you could eat off the floor. Ralph was nothing if not a perfectionist.
After several years in the beauty biz, he sold his shop, “Mr. Ralph’s,” and moved on to a career in the medical field. He started as a nurse’s aide at the old Gila General Hospital then went on to become a ward clerk on “C” station. A true renaissance man, Ralph also got his real estate license. He loved the disco era and his cackley laugh was at the center of any fun get together.
In 1979, Ralph moved to Phoenix and had a job as a ward clerk in the surgical unit of Good Samaritan Hospital. It was during these two decades that Ralph was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He moved to Whittier in 2000, where he lived for a short time with his mother. From there he moved to Paradise, California to be close to his sister, Irene.
In 2013, after the deaths of his mother and sister Irene, He moved to Yachats, Oregon, where he met Mary McKee, the love of his life.
A true original, he will be missed.
