Dorothy Mae Baylor

February 1, 1937 - March 22, 2020

Dorothy Mae (Adams) Baylor, 83, affectionately known as “Mama Dorothy,” was born on February 1, 1937, in Lavaca County, Texas, to the late Abe Adams, Sr. and Henrietta Herndon Adams. She was the sixth child to this union. In her younger years, Dorothy attended school in Breslau, Texas. When she was a teenager, she moved to Bay City, Texas, and lived with her maternal uncle, Arvine Herndon, wife Flora Dean (Clay) Herndon, and their children. Dorothy considers these cousins as her foster brothers and sisters. Dorothy married Wilber Dean, Jr., and together they were blessed with son, Thomas Adams, and daughter, Delonda Dean. Dorothy later remarried to George Baylor, Sr., who preceded her in death. Mama Dorothy worked as a cook most of her life. She worked many years in El Campo, Texas, before moving to Austin, Texas, and working at Mama’s Kitchen. She later retired from Hillcrest Elementary School where she worked in the cafeteria. She was a faithful member of Fontaine Memorial Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, for over 30 years, serving as a deaconess, singing in the choir, and providing her cooking skills upon request. She had a passion for cooking and baking and is well known for her 7-UP cakes and peach cobbler. Dorothy LOVED her family and friends. She enjoyed going to church, talking on the phone, reading the word and scriptures, playing Yahtzee, bingo, spades, and dominos. She had a beautiful smile and her laugh made everyone light up. Her transition from this life to life eternal came on Sunday, March 22, 2020, in Austin, Texas. Besides her parents and her husband, Dorothy was preceded in death by seven sisters: infant (name unknown), Shelley Mae Adams, Grace (Adams) Foster, Georgie Lee (Adams) Lemons (Julius), Lillie Adams, Bertha Nell (Adams) Foster, and Dora (Adams) Monroe; and one paternal half-brother: Eugene Adams; foster sister, Jarvis Herndon Times; foster brothers, Louis Herndon (Herretta), and Waymond Herndon; foster brother and (later) brother-in-law, Henry Thornton (Zelma); sister-in-law Dorothy Ashford, and brothers-in-law Leo Baylor, Sr., James Baylor, J.B. Baylor, Walter Baylor, Albert Baylor, and Ernest Baylor; and stepdaughter-in-law, Linda Baylor Bryant. She leaves to mourn her passing: son, Thomas Adams (Geraldine), of Hephzibah, GA; daughter, Delonda Dean, of Manor, TX; granddaughter, Shaquanda Owens (Jonathan), of Manor, TX; great-granddaughter, Serenity Marshall; and brother, Abe Adams Jr. (Johnnie Lucille) of Moulton, TX; foster sisters, Carolyn Herndon, Sherryl Barnes (Alfred), and Linda Godley (Gene), of Bay City, TX; foster sister-in-law, Mary Herndon Johnican, of Victoria, TX; sisters-in-law Veola Perkins (Thelton), and Leona Lee; brother-in-law, Gerald Austin, of El Campo, TX; stepsons, Curtis Baylor, Sr., George Baylor, Jr. (Roslyn), Cedric Baylor, and Patrick Baylor, and step-daughter, Barbara Haggerty (Lon); step-grandchildren, Eric Rodriguez, Curtis Baylor, III (Tiffany), George “Trey” Baylor, III (Lindsay), Bryan Baylor, Oscar Turner, Anthony Turner (DeCarlo), and; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives and friends.