Bailey inspired teammates with energy and confidence
Sid Richardson College junior Jonathan Bailey was stabbed to death outside a College Station bar April 4th.
Bailey was celebrating his 22nd birthday with his twin brother, Janson, and some friends at the V-Bar in College Station. Janson Bailey became involved in a fight outside the bar, and both brothers were stabbed after Jonathan Bailey and others attempted to intervene. The Baileys were taken to St. Joseph Regional Health Center, where Janson Bailey was treated for non-life-threatening wounds and Jonathan Bailey was pronounced dead.
The alleged killer is Ronald Johnson Jr., a 23-year-old College Station resident and U.S. Marine who recently returned from Iraq. Johnson was arrested on murder charges and released on $200,000 bond Saturday (see Marine, page 5).
Coming only five days after the death of Baker College junior Parker Redman, the news of Bailey’s death came as a jolt to the Rice community. It is the fifth time a Rice student has died this academic year.
There will be a university memorial service for Bailey Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Sid.
Bailey, whose hometown is Beaumont, transferred to Rice from Texas State University in 2005 and joined the basketball team as a walk-on sophomore.
Head men’s basketball coach Willis Wilson said transfer students can have a difficult time adjusting to new environments and finding a social niche, but Bailey had little difficulty.
“For transfers and walk-ons, there’s an element of acceptance that you have to work through,” Wilson said. “[Bailey] made himself available for everything the other guys went through and never gave you the sense that he didn’t belong.”
Fellow basketball players remember Bailey for his enthusiasm and confidence, recalling his loud cheers and many compliments paid for even small accomplishments. Teammates said Bailey spent his time in the locker room exuding energy that they could draw from.
“He was always hyped before games,” Sid sophomore Christopher Szalay said. “He would be that guy that would just get us going.”
Szalay, who knew Bailey from the pair’s first days at Rice, said Bailey was devoted to performing well on and off the court and had considered attending law school or entering politics after college. Emphasizing Bailey’s commitment to his friends, Szalay recalled late night study sessions where his always-supportive teammate would push himself and his friends to do well in classes and offer help where he could.
Sid sophomore Charles Belton also highlighted Bailey’s contagious positive energy. Belton said Bailey’s Rice experience was enhanced by his support and happiness. Bailey enjoyed music, dancing and hanging out, and Belton said he misses his friend’s attitude.
“You [could not] help but get hyped with him,” Belton said. “No matter what, nothing could really take him down.”
Szalay and Belton said Bailey would always provide an ear for his friends and that he was a trustworthy companion. Szalay recalled one day when he wanted to buy two pairs of shoes but thought only one pair would be sold to each customer. Bailey waited with Szalay for over four hours in the cold to find out that the shoes were sold out, but he did not complain. Szalay remembers that time for Bailey’s reliability and devoted friendship.
Belton said he related to Bailey like a brother, and he feels that Rice students can learn from his approach to life.
“Seize the moment, live every day to the fullest and don’t let negative things in your life hold you back — I think that’s what people can learn from him being here, because he always seized every moment,” Belton said. “He lived his life to the fullest.”
Wilson said the basketball team has taken the loss hard, and the players are trying to come to grips with the death of their teammate. A funeral for Bailey is being held today at 10 a.m. at Beaumont’s Cathedral of the Pines.
Bailey is survived by his mother, Diana Bailey, his twin brother, Janson, and his brothers Alex, Joshua and Christopher.
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