Memorial services with a visitation to follow for Gwendolyn (Gwen) Adams Bays, 82, of Cleburne, Texas, will be held on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Rosser Funeral Home, 1664 West Henderson, Cleburne, Texas, 76033. Mike Owens, longtime co-worker and friend, will officiate.

On February 12, 2026, Gwen Bays, wife and mother of 3 children, passed away at the age of 82 after a long battle with breast cancer and heart disease.

Gwen was born in Brownwood, Texas, on June 21, 1943, to Herman W. Adams and Jesse Juanita Scott. When she was a young child, her mother married Lee Roy Hill, whom she considered her father. She graduated from Grand Prairie High School in May of 1961 and married Harold Wayne Bays on June 23, 1961, in Grand Prairie, Texas. Gwen worked as a Corporate HR Director for five decades in the lime and mineral industry. She started at Rangaire in 1972, then transitioned to Texas Lime, which later became US Lime and Mineral, and finally retired in 2021. She loved her job and was proud of her work there and the part she played in the lives of its employees.

Gwen and Harold, ever the do-it-yourselfers, built the family home from plans she had drawn herself. She was artistic by nature and enjoyed pottery, sumi-e, watercolor painting, and designing things for Harold to build. She and Harold spent many weekends selling their creations at art festivals and shows. Gwen was also an avid reader and much to Harold's chagrin, you could always find her nose in a book.

Gwen was always happy to go anywhere Harold wanted to go. She loved the times spent at their cabin in Colorado and their lakeside RV on Lake Fork. She especially enjoyed the many trips taken in their RV with their grandchildren. When the great-granddaughter came along, she and Alyssa took great joy in hosting "Savannah Camp" every summer which she looked forward to immensely and spent months planning.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Harold Wayne Bays.

Gwen is survived by Daughter, Teresa Bays Steed, and husband, Louis Steed; Daughter, Cathy Bays Hammond, and husband, Doug Hammond; Son, Shawn Wayne Bays, and wife, Rachel Bays. Grandchildren, Ashlyn Hammond Bryant and husband, David Bryant; Austin Hammond; Alyssa Steed Vinson, and husband, Nathan Vinson; Ayden Andrew Bays, and fiancée, Beth Gates; and Alec Garrison Bays; and beloved Great-granddaughter, Savannah Catherine Bryant; her sister, Wilda Cowley, her sweet kitty, Mena, and many special cousins, friends, and neighbors.

Donations in Gwen's memory to https://www.lbbc.org or https://give.bcrf.org are appreciated