Velma Lee Bailey Ford

Velma Lee Bailey Ford, 78, of Pleasant Grove, Arkansas, departed this life on Monday, September 21, 2026. She was born in St. James, Arkansas, on February 12, 1948, to James Oden and Ivan Scholes Oden.

Velma owned her own business, Velma’s Hair Salon, in Batesville. She worked over thirty years as a cosmetologist serving many clients. She loved to cook and was always looking for new ways to cook food.  She also enjoyed sitting on her porch and watching the wild life on her farm. 

She was a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Mountain View, Arkansas.

Left to cherish her memory is her son, Joseph Daniel Bailey, of Southside; her daughter, Tifney Bailey, of Benton; a brother, James Allen Oden, of Mountain View, Arkansas; and her sisters, Marie Oden, of Southside, and Thelma Smith, of Harrison; her grandchildren, Shera Stephens, Latasha Bailey, and Bobbie Michelle Bailey;  great grandchildren, Mason, Kara, and Emma Stephens, Howard and Michael Bailey, Stormie Woodall, Dewayne, Thomas, and Jeremiah Bailey; and several nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be on Sunday, October 11, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. in the Pleasant Grove Community Center in Pleasant Grove, Arkansas.