CHRISTY BAILEY was a vibrant writer, traveler, friend, daughter, sister, and aunt who left a lasting impression on all who met her.

Born May 1, 1967, in Houston, Christy earned a bachelor’s in journalism and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before moving to Denver to be close to family. In 2002, she left her corporate job and joined the Peace Corps, where she served in Honduras and adopted the colorful headscarves, or pañuelos, that became her trademark and earned her the nickname “Pañuelo Girl.”

Upon returning to Denver, Christy pursued her lifelong passion of teaching and writing. She earned an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2011, taught creative nonfiction writing at the University of Denver and Regis University, co-founded Salon Denver, and was a constant presence at Lighthouse Writers Workshop. She also taught writing to children battling homelessness and was a writer in residence at Children’s Hospital.

After her diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer in 2012, Christy continued to live boldly, wringing every moment of joy and adventure from her remaining time. She shared her story of living with IBC online, post by post, to a growing audience of devoted readers, sparing no details of the brutal treatments and side effects, all the while cracking jokes, never becoming saccharine, and celebrating every reprieve from her disease, no matter how brief.

Christy ran marathons, completed triathlons, hiked fourteeners, worked in a pub in London, traveled to 19 countries, witnessed an active volcano, stood atop Machu Picchu, wandered through ancient ruins, and along the way encountered monkeys, sloths, anteaters, toucans, anacondas, pink dolphins, flamingos, and whales.

A master storyteller, Christy wrote a memoir about her path to self-acceptance after losing her hair to alopecia areata. Headstrong: Embracing Alopecia and Becoming Pañuelo Girl was published posthumously on May 1, 2025.

Christy’s passing on June 12, 2015, left behind a loving family and a wide circle of friends gathered from elementary and high school, college, graduate school, running groups, the Peace Corps, and writers across the U.S. She was radiance and wildfire, and she left this world too soon.