Ovid Bay

Ovid Updegraff Bay, 91, of Fort Collins, passed away on March 5, 2009. He was born on August 25, 1917 in Wayne County, Iowa, the oldest of four sons of Michael and Marie Bay. Ovid graduated from Trenton Missouri High School and earned Bachelor and Masters degrees in Agriculture Journalism from the University of Missouri. During World War II, he served in Italy as a Captain in the Field Artillery. As a member of the 88th Division, known as the Blue Devils, he was awarded the Bronze Star. Ovid was well known as an agricultural journalist. He was the Agricultural Editor at the University of Missouri from 1948-52 and an Associate Editor of Farm Journal Magazine from 1953-70. Ovid was the Director of Communications for the Extension Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. from 1971-88. He was a member of teams that worked on agricultural projects in Egypt and Syria. He received numerous professional citations, including the USDA Superior Service Award and the Professional ACE Award from the Agricultural Communicators in Education. Ovid was the national president of Alpha Gamma Rho, an agriculture fraternity, from 1970-72 and was inducted into the Alpha Gamma Rho Hall of Fame in 1991. He was the editor of their national magazine, the Sickle and Sheaf, for 17 years. He was also a member of the First United Methodist Church and Kiwanis Club in Fort Collins. During retirement, he was a weekly volunteer at Poudre Valley Hospital. Ovid was dearly loved by many friends and family around the world and will be remembered for his wit and wonderful sense of humor, his gentle spirit, and his devotion to his wife, daughters, and grandchildren. Ovid married Betty Hamilton on September 7, 1947, at the Little Brown Church in the Vale, Nashua, Iowa. They were married for 56 years. Survivors include two daughters, Donna Rhodes of Tampa, and Michelle Bay of Fort Collins; a granddaughter, Monica Cravotta and her husband Mark of Austin, Texas; a grandson, Michael Procter and his wife Casey of Denver; four great-grandchildren, Matthew and McKenna Procter, and Sadie and Isabel Cravotta. He is also survived by his three brothers, Webster and his wife Bernice of Springfield, Illinois; Michael and his wife Betty of San Diego; and Carroll and his wife Kathy of Chicago. He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Betty, and his parents. The family would like to thank the staffs of Centre Ave. Rehab, Lemay Ave. Rehab, and Pathways Hospice for their kindness and care of Ovid. A memorial service will be at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at the First United Methodist Church, 1005 Stover, in Fort Collins. A private interment with military honors will be at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver. Memorial donations may be made in his name to the First United Methodist Church of Fort Collins, the Food Bank of Larimer County, or the American Parkinson Disease Association in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel, 121 W. Olive, Ft. Collins, CO 80524. Condolences may be sent to bohlenderfuneralchapel.com.