Dr. Joseph Peyton Bailey Jr. was born in Augusta, Georgia, on June 22, 1931, to Joseph Sr. and his wife Katherine Levelle Bailey.  His father was in the grocery business.  Bailey attended the Academy of Richmond County, where he was an honor student and in the Beta Club.  He was also a 1^st Lieutenant in ROTC and a member of the Sabre Club.  After graduating from ARC in 1948, he attended the Junior College of Augusta, where he graduated in 1950, then completed his last two years at Mercer University, receiving a BS in Medicine.  He received an MD degree from the Medical College of Georgia in 1955, did an internship at the Medical College of Virginia, and a residency at the Medical College of Georgia.  After completion of his medical training, he served on active duty as a Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps as the Post Surgeon at Fort Buchanan in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  He completed that service in 1959.

In 1961, Dr. Bailey became a faculty member at the Medical College of Georgia and six years later founded the Rheumatology section and became the Chief of Rheumatology, a position he held until his retirement in 2000.  He retired as the Leon Henri Charbonnier Chair Emeritus as well as the Associate Dean for Clinical Sciences Emeritus.  He taught thousands of medical students during his career and was known for his focus on compassionate patient care.

Dr. Bailey was active in professional organizations throughout his career, including the Richmond County Medical Society, the Georgia Society of Rheumatology, and the Medical Association of Georgia, serving as president of all three.  He was also on the Georgia Delegation of the American Medical Association from 1989 to 2014.  He was a member of the Southern Medical Association, the American Federation for Clinical Research, and the State Medical Education Board of Georgia. He was inducted into the medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha.

Dr. Bailey was also active in the community.  He served as president of the Augusta College Alumni Association, president of the Augusta Rotary Club, Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 10, and a board member of the Augusta Sailing Club.  His work was recognized with numerous awards.  In 1990, the Medical Association of Georgia awarded him its distinguished service award, which it later renamed the Joseph P. Bailey Jr. Distinguished Service Award.  He was designated a Master of the American College of Rheumatology in 2008.  The Medical Association of Georgia gave him their Legacy Award in 2014 and the following year he received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Medical Association. His civic work also brought awards, including the Distinguished Alumni Award from Augusta College and the James West Fellowship Award from the Boy Scouts of America.

Dr. Bailey passed on June 19, 2021.  He was married for sixty-six years to LePage Thomas Bailey and the couple had two children.