Robert Bailey recalls his hometown – a small coal-mining community that no longer exists in the north central region of Alabama – had three telephones that residents shared.
“Everyone now is walking around with a telephone, it’s amazing,” Bailey said, as there’s an estimated 1.5 billion mobile phone users worldwide, according to Statista.
“When you live a long time, you see a lot of changes in the world.”
Although Bailey turned 101 years old in June 2025, this centenarian and World War II veteran continues to embrace and enjoy life. And his routine includes twice-weekly workouts at Premier Health & Fitness Center, where he motivates and inspires generations to get up and move.
“He is remarkable, so sharp, alert and as pleasant as he can be,” said club member Richard Holihan, 78. “You see a person like him, smiling, so positive … he’s just not sitting there either.
“He’s doing his thing.”
101-year-old Bob Bailey credits his longevity to ‘being active.’
Bailey can’t pinpoint a secret sauce behind his longevity.
He attributes it to being surrounded by a wonderful wife and family, good genetics, eating right and remaining active despite his physical limitations and advanced age.
Bailey into his early 90s mowed his lawn, walked six miles daily around his Betton Hills neighborhood and drove where needed in his 2015 Toyota Camry (Bailey gave up his license three years ago, and his first car back in the day was a 1939 Ford four-door coupe).
While current challenges include rheumatoid arthritis in his hands and shoulders, declining hearing and the use of a walker to help with balance issues, Bailey still lives independently in his home he purchased in 1963.
The world’s not passing him by either.
He’s computer and iPhone savvy, follows his family (and comments) on social media, and is up on the latest news.
The love of Bailey’s life, wife Hannah, died in 2010 prior to their 68th wedding anniversary but their devotion remains. A large family that features three sons (ages 68, 70 and 78), a daughter-in-law, eight grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren offers plenty of support.
“I think he enjoys the experiences and challenges, and the reward he gets out of it,” said son Bobby, a former paramedic for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. “The longevity and independence he’s maintaining. … he has been kind of like that all of his life.”
Bailey focuses on upper- and lower-body exercise machines that target his arms and legs during workouts that can last up to an hour. A family member drives him to the facility.
Bailey loves a good steak, but admittedly has a sweet tooth for cake, candy (jelly beans are a favorite), fig newtons and ice cream. He’s early to bed and early to rise, a voracious reader and loves to watch westerns and the Hallmark channel.
Bailey was also a longtime FSU Booster Golden Chief and attended home and away football games. He is active in his church, First Baptist Church of Tallahassee, and attends every Sunday he can.
Todd Del Calzo, executive director at Premier, doesn’t know Bailey personally but is hopeful his presence at the center motivates and inspires.
“I know that for me personally, when I see members in their later years in life coming in and putting in the work daily, they truly motivate me,” Del Calzo said. “Mr. Bailey should provide inspiration to many. Simply, if you have the willingness, there is no reason why you can’t continue to stay active at any age. He is definitely a new role model to me.
“I hope his story motivates many gym-goers to move and be active.”
WWII veteran Robert Baily fought in the Battle of the Bulge
Bailey, an only child, was born in 1924 and raised in South Johns, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham. His grandmother and mother were Cherokee. Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States at the time.
Bailey recalls his childhood with fondness, playing pickup baseball, swimming with buddies in a nearby creek and working at age 14 at the local grocery store on weekends. Items he sold and helped load for customers included dynamite for the coal miners at Black Diamond Coal Mine and sugar for the local distilleries.
Bailey also fell in love.
Bailey and his future wife, Hannah, grew up in the same community, attended school together and were inseparable. Hannah’s passing 15 years ago was a great loss to Bailey, who was Hannah’s caregiver the last 10 years of her life.
The couple built a life, raised a family, traveled and grew an auto parts business (Auto Supply, Inc.) together in Tallahassee. They expanded it to multiple locations across the Big Bend and South Georgia before selling it to Genuine Parts Company of Atlanta and retiring in 1987.
Bailey was on the move at an early age.
He graduated from Hueytown High School (same school Florida State quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston attended), worked on the railroad and as a shipyard welder prior to joining the Army in 1943.
Bailey, a company parts manager in a tank division, served in campaigns from 1943 to 1946 in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic and under Gen. George Patton in Germany. Bailey received two Bronze Stars for distinguishing himself during the Battle of the Bulge.
Bailey recalled the winter in Germany during the Battle of the Bulge was cold and severe. Near the end of the battle as American soldiers sat around campfires to keep warm, surrendering German soldiers tapped American shoulders as requests to move over. There was another time when Bailey was driving a parts van when a German general walked from the woods with arms raised and surrendered.
Bailey, on a lighter side, also said the biscuits included in his mess kit meals were frozen solid and could “dent a tank.”
As life happened, as the years past, and as the world changed, Bailey’s quest to hug life and remain active has never wavered. He started working out at local fitness facilities in his 80s and and impacting the lives of others young and old along the way.
He describes himself as “blessed.”
“His life is an example of life well lived,” Bobby Bailey said.
Jim Henry is sports editor of the Tallahassee Democrat. Email him at jjhenry@tallahassee.com.