Lillian Mae Bayless

Lillian Mae Bayless was born June 2, 1941 in Atlanta, MO to parents Marshall and Genevieve Stark, and passed away February 16, 2025 in Pace, FL.

Her childhood was filled with family time, as she was the fourth of seven children. When Lillian was a child her family moved to Colorado, and she graduated from Canon City High School in 1959. After high school, she married Bill Thornton and started a family, as her oldest son, Perry, and daughter, Chris were born. In 1970 she married Ken Norris and welcomed her youngest son, Michael. While living in Canon City, she worked as a newspaper ad saleswoman, a waitress, and in retail clothing. She enjoyed traveling and playing golf. Lillian married Charlie Bayless in 1979 and moved to Pueblo where they owned and operated Bayless & Associates, Bayless & Bayless, and later Dirt & Demo. They also opened and operated the Pueblo Fast Track before selling their businesses and retiring in 2017.

She loved having time for family visits, and particularly enjoyed spoiling her grandchildren. She was an avid lover of yard work and spent countless hours tending to many plants, focusing much of her time on her prized rose bushes. She also loved to bake and you could always count on her to offer homemade raisin cake, apple cake, assorted pies, and of course pizzelles at Christmas, her favorite time of year. She spent hundreds of hours over many years creating cross-stitched Christmas stockings for all of her children, children-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Lillian was a member of Praise Assembly of God since 1984 and treasured her church family. Lillian was kind to all who knew her. She had an incredibly generous heart and was always quick to help family, friends, and even strangers who were down on their luck. Lillian’s memory will be cherished by her family and many friends, as she was a supportive and loving sister, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and friend.

Lillian was preceded in death by her husband Charlie; her parents; sisters, Nedra Keiley, Phyllis Russell, and Pam Barber, all of Colorado Springs; and brother, Donn Stark of Merritt Island, FL.

She is survived by her sisters, Sharol Berreman of Lewiston, ID and Wanda (Travis) George of Colorado Springs; her children, Perry (Denai) Thornton of Loveland, Chris (Tom) Hinson of Navarre, FL, and Michael (Kirsta) Norris of Colorado Springs; grandchildren, Brynn (David) Minturn and their children of Pace, FL, Ryleigh Hinson of Pace, FL, Patrick (Liz) Thornton and their daughters of Byram Township, NJ, Nicole (Tucker) Barnes and their son of Severance, CO, and Tatum and Cooper Norris of Colorado Springs.

Memorial service, 11 a.m. Friday, July 11, 2025, in the Montgomery & Steward Funeral Chapel. Condolences may be made at www.MontgomerySteward.com