Lil Bailey

Lillie M. (Lil) Bailey, 78, died November 11, 2008, in Tupelo after a long illness. She was born on March 12, 1930, in Augusta, Georgia, to Alfred T. and Gertrude Tudor. She was the youngest of four children. In the Fall of 1951 she met her future husband, Norman Bailey, at Calvary Baptist Church. In her own words she wrote I knew the first time I saw him that he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. At 4:30 p.m. on February 17, 1952, they were married in Augusta, Georgia. Shortly thereafter they moved to Atlanta where Norman attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and earned his BS and Masters degrees in Electrical Engineering. Lillie worked at Emory University during Normans college years. In April of 1953 they had their first child, Sherry, and 2 other daughters and a son followed over the next 10 years. Norm and Lil were married for 56 years.

Lil was a member of Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg where she had been a member since 1972 and was the travel agent for the churchs Joy Club for 15 years. She loved to travel, her dogs and Baby Ruth candy bars. She will be missed particularly for her sense of humor and fun loving personality.

Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Saturday in the Jefferson Street Chapel of W. E. Pegues with Rev. David Eldridge and Dr. Dean Register officiating. Burial will be in Tupelo Memorial Park.

She is survived by her husband, Norman, her children, Sherry (Curtis) Gould of Canton, GA, Jan Graham of Ridgeland, MS, Patsy (Kevin) Hitt of Tupelo, MS, Rob (Michele) Bailey of Crestview, FL, sister, Cathryn Cox of Augusta, GA, grandchildren Curt Gould, Chris (Abbey) Gould, Whitney (Gabe) Herring, Audrey Powell, Matt Hitt, Bailey Hitt, Skye Bailey, Kayla Bailey, Savannah Bailey and Cooper Bailey, and great-grandchildren Kayleigh and Christopher Gould. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews including the Gaga Girls, Melody, Pat, Kathy, Jeanne and Martha Ann.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Alfred T. and Gertrude Tudor, her brothers Alfred and Allen, and her grandson, Hunter Hitt.

Pallbearers will be Dr. Kevin Hitt, Matthew Hitt, Curtis Gould, Curt Gould, Chris Gould, and Gabriel Herring.

Visitation will be 12;30 p.m. until service time on Saturday at the funeral home.

Donations may be made to the Honduran Baptist Dental Mission, P. O. Box 2704, Laurel, MS 39442 or Temple Baptist Church, 1508 Hardy Street, Hattiesburg, MS 39401.