Former Berrien County Parks Director Brian Bailey has died. He was 57.
Bailey started working for the Berrien County Parks Department in 1990 as a temporary assistant park manager at Madeline Bertrand County Park. He became the manager of Silver Beach in 1993, and the county parks director in 2008. He retired in 2020, but continued doing work for the county after that.
Berrien County Board of Commissioners Chair Mac Elliott tells us Bailey worked tirelessly for the parks department.
“His fingerprints are everywhere,” Elliott said. “We have an excellent parks system, and going back to the early 90s when we acquired Silver Beach, and he’s been involved in improving, expanding, and just the process of maintaining. Brian has done it all. He’s been a key for everything.”
Elliott says Bailey was behind the creation of Galien River County Park and countless improvements to other county parks. His death, at a relatively young age, is a shock.
“It’s a big loss, and it’s a shock because he’s middle aged, and this isn’t supposed to happen,” Elliott said.
Bailey had been battling pancreatic cancer in recent months.
Just before Bailey’s retirement in 2020, he told us the establishment of Galien River County Park and improvements at Rocky Gap County Park were key accomplishments during his time. Bailey was behind the creation of both Galien River County Park and Paw Paw River County Park.
Elliott says he thinks Bailey was so dedicated to the community because of his love for nature and understanding that pristine land needs to be preserved while still being accessible to the public.
