Roy E Bayless

Roy E. Bayless, 95, of Silvis, IL, passed away Tuesday, March 24, 2020, at New Perspective Senior Living in Silvis. A private family service will be held.  Entombment will be in Ridgelawn Memorial Park in Huntington, WV.  Wendt Funeral Home in Moline, IL, is assisting the family with arrangements. Roy was born on February 7, 1925, in Huntington, WV, the son of James L. and Mary (Barrett) Bayless. After graduation from High School in 1943, he entered the U.S. Navy, spending most of the next three years aboard ship in the Pacific.  He was discharged from the Navy in April, 1946, at which time he went to Ypsilanti, MI, where his high school sweetheart, Betty Lou Preston, was living.  She was working at the Willow Run B-24 Bomber Plant.  They were married in Bowling Green, OH, on April 28, 1946. Roy was hired by Airline National Terminal Service Company and the Airport Operations Company, and spent thirteen years in various airport operation positions. In 1959, he left Willow Run as Assistant Airport Manager, for the Airport Director position in Riverside, CA. While at Riverside, he was elected President of the California Association of Airport Executives, was Airport Manager of the Year, and Chairman of the Airport Administrators Council for three years. In 1974, he accepted the position of Director of Aviation in Austin, TX. While working in Austin, he was elected President of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), was a board member of the Airport Operators Council International for four years, was Chairman of the Aviation Advisory Committee for the Texas Transportation Institute and Texas A&M University for nine years, and a member of the Austin Retirement Board for two years. He loved fishing and spent many summers at their Wisconsin Lake home, fishing with his grandsons. Roy is survived by his wife, Betty, of 73 years; a daughter, Marcia (Jeff) Gunderson of Moline; a son, Gregory of Austin, TX; three grandchildren, Marcus (Julie) Quaranta of Silvis, Chad (Julie) Quaranta of Brookshire, TX, and Kelli Schafer of Moline; and six great-grandchildren.

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