Madeline Deasy Bayliss

WESTON, CONN. Madeline Deasy Bayliss died on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at the Rosenthal Hospice Center after a recent battle with cancer. She shared 56 of her 79 years with husband, Gene Bayliss. The family they raised includes six children, 15 grandchildren and one great grandson on the way. These families are: Randy and children Elizabeth, Christopher and Gregory; Madeline and children Douglas and Meredith; Philip (MD), wife Peggy and children Cathryn Marsala (husband Jaime), Ashley (fiance Casey) and Philip; Maura White, husband Jim and son Casey; David, wife Jennifer and children Allison, Christine, James and Ryan; and Stephen, wife Elissa and children Declan and Kendall. Madeline was born on February 18, 1929 to Madeline Keefe Deasy and Philip Sheridan Deasy in Galveston, Texas. Family members from the Deasy side remain in Texas, including Clara May Deasy Gootee and her daughters Madeline, Manette and Mary Frances and their respective families. Madeline kept in close touch with members of the Keefe family including Sterling Price, husband of deceased aunt Catherine, and the families of their children Sterling Price, Jr., Pam Smith, Stephen Price and Deborah McDaniel as well as the children of her deceased uncle John and wife Kay: John, David and wife Tami, and Mary, husband Julio and their children. She moved to Evanston, Illinois during high school graduating at the top of her class. She graduated in 1949 from Northwestern University where she met Gene. That's where they first became known as the "other Fred and Ginger" for the way they glided across any dance floor. She also performed in the well-known annual Waa-Mu show. Joining Pi Beta Phi sorority would remain a lifelong affiliation. She was a chemistry major who switched to retail merchandising and never looked back. Retail provided her a second career after the last of the children was in high school. She was a creative force for sales and customer service at Irresistables in New Canaan and Stamford, Mitchell's in Westport and The Factory Outlets in Norwalk. She also assisted Gene on the Miss Universe production the year it was held in Greece. Madeline was active in the Westport community in the Young Women's League, `Assumption Church and drug awareness programs for youth. Madeline applied her retail expertise for the benefit of the Bedford Jr High Consignment Shop for three years. She continued volunteer work for Appalachian ministries through St. Francis of Assisi parish when they moved to Weston several years ago. The family will receive relatives and friends on Friday, July 18, 2008 from 4:00PM to 8:00PM in Norwalk's Hoyt-Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 5 East Wall Street. Madeline's funeral will be held at 9:25AM on Saturday, July 19, 2008, from the funeral parlor, when the funeral cortege will proceed to the Church of the Assumption, 98 Riverside Avenue, Westport, where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00AM. She will join her parents in rest at the Assumption Church Cemetery immediately following the Mass. Since she was known for her love of animals, Madeline can be remembered through donations to PAWS (Pet Animal Welfare Society), www.pawsct.org, 203-750-9572.