Bailey Smith Barash

STREAMING: Click HERE to stream the funeral service

OBITUARY 

Bailey Smith Barash, born October 28, 1943, died peacefully in her home in Lake Claire on January 20, 2025 from pancreatic cancer. 

Feisty, fierce, curious, discerning, bold, Bailey was an award-winning journalist, advocate, activist, and world traveler. Having grown up in Atlanta, Georgia, Bailey studied at UGA for both her undergraduate and master’s degrees. She spent her early career working in science labs, as well as working at a facility with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities, where she met her husband, Don Barash, a social worker, in the mid 1970s. They welcomed their son, Max, a few years later.

In 1980, Bailey went to work at the nascent cable news network, CNN, a month before it went on air, helping to establish the health reporting desk. She learned on the job while also navigating the difficult and challenging world of being a woman in journalism during that time. After five years, she transitioned exclusively to science news, eventually becoming the Executive Producer of the Science and Medical Units.

Bailey left CNN in 1999 to become an independent documentary filmmaker, dedicating her work to uplifting stories she felt needed to be heard. “The AIDS Chronicles: Here to Represent” (about resilience and the fight against AIDS in the Black community in Atlanta), “Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie” (about beloved Southern expat chef, Edna Lewis), and “203 Days” (about the last year of life for a woman in hospice) are just a few of her most notable titles.

Between working and personal travel, Bailey traveled the world, starting with her Fulbright Fellowship in Molecular Genetic Research during grad school in Australia. She had a special affection for Hawaii where she and Don lived for a year while she had a fellowship to study aging and culture. They returned to live in Hawai’i for a month out of the year for many years to come. Bailey also had a deep interest in Eastern and Southeast Asian culture and cooking, having traveled through Japan, China, Korea, and Singapore. Other countries she spent time in included France, Russia, (formerly East) Germany, Spain, and Portugal. 

As an advocate and activist, Bailey could be regularly found volunteering and working for organizations such as GLAHR (Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights), Alternate ROOTS, at multiple hospice centers across Atlanta and Hawai’i, and was a faithful platelet donor for more than twenty years–until they told her her veins had given all they could give. 

In her later years, Bailey spent a lot of time working out and walking, watching films, thrift shopping, and spending time with friends and family.

Bailey is survived by her husband and son, Don and Max Barash, as well as her brothers, Daniel and Russell Smith.

As an old-school journalist, Bailey never wanted the story to be about her. She would be mortified to have this much attention paid to her and her many accomplishments, but we celebrate her beautiful life today, while encouraging you to expand your curiosity about the world, whatever that means to you. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the following organizations:

GLAHR (Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights)

Alternate ROOTS

A hospice or social justice organization of your choice.