Al Baillieul was surrounded by his loving family and friends when he passed away in the early morning hours of Saturday, November 14, 2026. This followed a brave and valiant fight with cancer.
On April 6, 1939, Allen A. Baillieul was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was a treasured son of Norman and Mildred Rouch Baillieul. Growing up, he shared his childhood with an older brother Ron. During his youth the Baillieul family relocated to the Rochester community. Al graduated from Rochester High School with his class in 1958. Al is remembered as a flashy playmaking guard on the Zebra basketball team. He also was known for his grit behind the plate, catching for the RHS Zebra baseball team. During his formative years and with his brother Ron developed a great passion for sports.
After high school patriotism beckoned with Al answering the call, serving our country with the United States Army during the Korean War and of course proudly playing on the Army baseball team. On August 27, 1966, Al married the love of his life Miss Carol M. Jones. They enjoyed 25 years of life's adventures. From their union came a precocious son, Scot. The family tree continued to grow with the added blessings of four grandsons. Sadly, Carol passed away on Christmas day in 1991.
With a strong work ethic, Al worked for several years for the City of Rochester as the Superintendent of Mill Creek and then worked for Air-Marking and INDOT in north central Indiana. He retired from the state highway department in 2006 so he could focus on his family and love for sports.
Known as one of the GOATs, greatest of all time ZEBRA fans, Al was also the teams' greatest critic. A member of the RHS football team's chain gang, he ran the chains up and down the sidelines tracking the athletes' successes for 47 years and served as the "official," scorekeeper for the RHS basketball teams. Al was an IHSAA licensed baseball, basketball and football official spending over 4 decades of refereeing their games with great diplomacy yet meeting the standards following the rules to the T. Al was inducted into the Rochester Athletics Hall of Fame and awarded a lifetime all-sports pass for his years of service to RHS sports. In addition to officiating, he played softball for the Winamac Coil Springers fast pitch, was on numerous slow pitch softball teams, and played for Culver’s Maramount Saints vintage baseball team until he was almost 70.
Al loved the game of golf and for several years never missed a day golfing at Mill Creek or the Elk's Club course. When he was finished with breaking clubs or retrieving them from the golf course pond he was also an armchair athlete. Al loved planning his day around game times for Da' Bears, the Chicago White Sox and all Notre Dame teams.
As the patriarch of the Baillieul family Grandpa Al loved overseeing 3 generations. He enjoyed following their school activities, academic successes, and sporting events. Grandpa Al was always in the stands cheering them on and offering some gentle suggestions on a winning strategy. Though in recent years, his most favorite spot was in a chair directly behind the home plate where he could watch (coach) his grandsons and all the area umpires as no one knew baseball better than Al.
Al is lovingly remembered by his son Scot (Charlene) Baillieul of Logansport, 4 amazing grandsons Leiton Haack, Brody Baillieul, Brixton Baillieul and “Professor” Beckett Baillieul; nieces Tracie (Jeff) Chrispen, Heather (Adam) Scott, Amanda (Jason) Wiard, Andrea Jones, Beth (Ken) Balser, Missy Jones, nephews Dave Baillieul, Greg (Stacy) Baillieul, Travis (Stephanie) Jones, Matt Jones, Craig Jones, bonus nephew J. D. Hunter; great-nieces & nephews: Haley Baillieul, Clay Baillieul, Sydney Shank, Dalton Baillieul, Amy Kowal, Brandon Rans; his brother and sisters-in-law Everett Henderson, Joyce Baillieul, Janelle Smith, Joyce Jones, and Becky Jones. And many more nieces and nephews spanning multiple generations.
Welcoming Al to Heaven are his wife Carol Baillieul, parents Norman and Mildred Baillieul, brother Ron Baillieul, an infant sister, brothers-in-law Fred Jones, Robert Jones, David Lee Jones, Dick Smith, and sister-in-law Kay Henderson.
A celebration of the life of Mr. Al Baillieul will be held from 4:00 - 6:00 PM, Friday, November 20th at the Good Family Funeral Home, 1200 West 18th Street, Rochester. The United States Army and Fulton County Veteran's Honor Guard will accord military honors at 6:00 PM. Memorials in lieu of flowers may be made to the Rochester Youth Baseball League. Envelopes are available at the funeral home. To honor Al's passion for all sports the family asks that you wear your favorite GAME DAY sports team attire or golf wear. Online expressions of sympathy may be made to Al's family at www.goodfamilyfh.com
