AREA OBITUARIES – Bobby Hailey

Robert Lee Hailey, 86, a long-time resident of Fulton, Ky., died on April 1, 2026 at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Union City, Tenn. He was born Sept. 27, 1939 on the family farm in Obion County, Tenn. to the late Mary Adelle Hailey and E.C. Hailey.
He was raised and educated in South Fulton, Tenn., and graduated from South Fulton High School in 1957. 
Upon graduating, he moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
He returned to South Fulton in 1959, where he met his future wife Sidney Calliham, of Fulton, Ky., whom he married later that year. They were married for 66 years. 
He began his career with Pure Milk Company (later Turner Dairy), where he rose to a management position. He served as a volunteer firefighter, a Fulton City Commissioner, and a Kentucky Colonel. 
He was a member of Fulton First United Methodist Church for 66 years, where he volunteered on various committees, was a member of the United Methodist Men and the Fellowship Sunday School class, and sang tenor in the choir.
He loved to sing. As a child, his mother often accompanied him on piano, he later participated in the Lion’s Club performances, and he and his brother, Ed, performed as Bottleneck and Stopper. 
He was an avid golfer, and after he gave up the sport he continued to seek out opportunities to play putt-putt with his grandchildren. 
He also loved to drive, whether he was in a truck or on his lawn mower. After his retirement, Bobby and Sidney traversed the East Coast from Maine to Florida and traveled as far west as the Rocky Mountains.
He is survived by his wife, Sidney Calliham Hailey; three daughters Charlotte Patton (LinRico), of Union City, Tenn., Mary Lee Grossner, of Martin, Tenn., and Rebecca Morris, of South Fulton, Tenn.; grandchildren, Meagan Coffman, of Manchester, N.H., Sarah Adair (Trey), of Nashville, Tenn., and Tyler Morris (Samantha) and Hannah Nolan (Tyler), of South Fulton, Tenn.; and three great-grandchildren Rylee and Sawyer Morris, and Gemma Nolan.
He was preceded in death by his parent;  a sister, Marjorie Collins; four brothers, Ed, Charles, Bruce, and Danny Hailey; and his in-laws, Ruth and Milton Calliham.
A Celebration of Life was held at 1 p.m. Sat., April 4, 2026 at the Fulton First United Methodist Church and burial followed in the Obion County Memorial Gardens. Visitation was held at the Fulton First United Methodist Church from 11 a.m. until the hour of service.
Memorials may be made to the Annie Ruth Pirtle Childcare Center, P.O. Box 1386, Fulton, KY 42041 or to the charity of choice.