Sherylyn Marie Bailey

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Sherylyn Marie Bouldin Bailey born August 27, 1948, was the second child and only daughter of the late Ethel Marie Hall Bouldin and the late Charles Bouldin, Sr., and was the younger sister of the late Charles (Chuck) Bouldin, Jr..  Although born in Manhattan, Sherylyn spent most of her childhood and youth in Brooklyn, New York, where she attended P.S. 224, George Gershwin JHS, and graduated from St Michael’s High School for Girls, before going on to earn her bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College, majoring in dance.  After a brief stint at New York University, where she continued studying dance, she set her sights on the study of the law.  This took her to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she pursued her Juris Doctor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.  As fate would have it, there was that time when her car suffered a flat tire—and she gained the help and attention of her future husband, Ronnie Charleston Bailey, whom she married on Valentine’s Day, 1979, and from which union came the couple’s daughter, Mauri Yolanda Bailey.   For Sherry, as she was affectionately called, teaching was a siren call, and in 1990, she began her teaching career. Upon her moving to Staten Island in 1996, Sherry began working at IS 72, in the Island’s Heartland Village section.  It was here that she blossomed as a teacher, becoming not only a dean, but a civic leader, engaging her student in activities that promoted their understanding. This devotion to civil society showed itself in her long association with the United Federation of Teachers. There is perhaps no more poignant manifestation of her view of civil society and civic duty than her novel Protect the Butterflies (2013). Sherry was a “doer”.  For at least the past 15 years, she was not only a UFT delegate and rally participant, but she was also one of the main coordinators for the Staten Island UFT’s very visible participation in the annual Breast Cancer Walk.   A two-time cancer survivor, for Sherry, this annual walk was part of her very being. Sherry corralled monetary support for breast cancer research, with the funds going to the American Cancer Society.  In the recent years before her retirement, Sherry engaged herself in the efforts to reclaim several of Staten Island’s forgotten burial grounds, some of which have been built over,  she engaged even more with the larger Staten Island community, joining the board of directors of Historic Richmond Town.  She fully immersed herself  in its activities, ultimately rising to serve as the organization’s second vice president. And so we bid good-bye to Sherylyn Bouldin Bailey, who for many was a solid friend and staunch ally,  a most dedicated and unique teacher whose curiosity never piqued, and a  sister of choice with the listening ear of a second mother. Sherylyn is survived by her daughter, Mauri Yolanda Bailey-Belarmino; her son-in-law Gavin Belarmino; her grandson, Anakin Gavin Belarmino; her nephews Brett Bouldin, Sean Bouldin, Kwasi Boyd Bouldin, and Ian Bouldin; her sister-in-law, Sandra Bouldin; a host of friends, family, and colleagues; and, of course, her many students to whom she imparted her passion for passion for inquiry and excellence.

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