Jerry Bails - Later Life and Death

Later Life and Death

Through his work, Bails made many friends in the comic book industry, both professionals and fellow enthusiasts. He attended conventions, corresponded via letters (and more recently, e-mail), and selflessly encouraged others to follow in his footsteps. As the unofficial "Father of Comic Book Fandom," he was a much-beloved figure within the comics community. As an established expert on a number of areas within comics, as well as behind-the-scenes, he also wrote introductions and forewords to a number of collections of Golden Age and Silver Age DC Comics books. In 1985, DC Comics named Bails as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great.

Bails had three children: a son, Steven, and daughter, Brenda, with his first wife Sondra; and Kirk, with his second wife, Jean He also had 3 grandchildren, from Steven and his wife Irina they had a daughter named Katerina Bails, from Brenda and her husband Roger came two girls, Gabbriel and Hillary Benedict. He was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Bails died in his sleep of a heart attack on November 23, 2006. He was 73 years old.