Clifton Augustus Baile

Clifton A. Baile, 74, of Athens, GA died on May 19, 2014. Clifton was the third of four children of Harold F. and Salome Mohler Baile, born at home on the family farm February 8, 1940. He attended school in Warrensburg, MO, graduating in 1958 and making his mark as a successful high school basketball player. He continued with collegiate basketball at McPherson College, McPherson, KS and Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg, MO. He and Beth Hoover were married August 21, 1960. He finished his B.S. degree in Agriculture and Business in 1962 at Central Missouri State University and immediately started graduate school at the University of Missouri at Columbia. His Ph.D. in Nutrition was conferred in 1965. He accepted a post-doctoral position at the Harvard School of Public Health, working with his mentor Dr. Jean Mayer, and became Instructor of Nutrition and Assistant Professor of Nutrition. From 1971 to 1975, he directed research as Senior Investigator and Manager of Neurobiological Research at Smith Kline Animal Health Products in West Chester, PA, and was Professor of Nutrition, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, in Kennett Square, PA, 1975 to 1982. He received an honorary M.A. in 1979 from the University of Pennsylvania. He was selected by the Monsanto Company in St. Louis, MO in 1982 as Distinguished Fellow and Director of Research and Development in their Animal Sciences Division. His research project was successful and led to development of a product that was eventually approved by the FDA. He retired from Monsanto in 1995 and chose to return to academic life at the University of Georgia as Distinguished Professor and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Agricultural Biotechnology, conducting research and teaching from 1995 until his death. He was a faculty member of both Animal and Dairy Science in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Foods and Nutrition in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. His work at UGA included founding and advising start-up companies to promote discoveries in biotechnology. Dr. Baile worked for the past three years as Director of the Obesity Initiative on the UGA campus. He often said that his favorite place on campus was the Ramsey Center where he exercised every day for many years; he had finally given up playing basketball in 1995. He traveled widely, attended many conferences around the world, and influenced the scientific careers of many students from many countries. He was dedicated to the education and well-being of his students. Other affiliations included adjunct Professor at the University of Missouri, Washington University, The Pennsylvania State University, and the Medical College of Georgia; he was a Research Associate with Monell Chemical Senses Center, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Baile's body of work includes hundreds of published papers and abstracts, patents, invited lectures and membership in professional and scientific organizations and societies. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lamar Dodd award for creative scientific research, the D.W. Brooks Faculty Award for Excellence and the College of Family and Consumer Sciences Bill and June Flatt Outstanding Faculty Research Award-all from the University of Georgia. He was recognized in recent years with Alumni Awards from the three colleges and universities he attended, McPherson College, University of Central Missouri, and the University of Missouri. He was named a Fellow of the American Society for the Advancement of Science in 2011. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Beth Baile, son Christopher Baile and wife Jennifer, daughter Marisa Baile Johnson and husband Michael, and five grandchildren; three siblings and their spouses, James H. and Wilma Baile, Margaret Baile Hoefle, Dr. Mary Baile Goetze and Dr. Robert Althauser; twelve nieces and nephews and their families, and many cousins. A memorial service will be held on Monday, June 30, 2014, 11:00 a.m., at Athens First United Methodist Church, followed by a reception. A second memorial service will be held in Warrensburg, MO on Sunday, July 27, 2:00 p.m., at the Church of the Brethren. The family requests that any donations in memory of Dr. Clifton A. Baile be directed to the University of Georgia Foundation to benefit the Obesity Initiative and mailed to the University of Georgia Foundation, 394 S. Milledge Avenue, Athens, GA 30602-5582, or to the Athens First United Methodist Church, 327 North Lumpkin Street, Athens, GA 30601-2743.


Funeral Home:
A.S. Turner
2773 N. Decatur Road
Decatur, GA
30033