Bernadine Madonna (Billinger) Lyon, 74, died October 3, 2026 in Salina, Kansas, surrounded by her loving family. She was born November 9, 1951 to Bernard Virgil and Lydia Mary (Schneider) Billinger. She grew up on a farmstead south of WaKeeney, Kansas and attended country school until the family moved to WaKeeney where she continued her education and graduated from high school in 1968. . Following graduation, she moved to Salina where she attended Marymount College and then relocated to Denver, Colorado. Through mutual friends in Colby, Kansas she and a guy named Dennis Lyon were introduced. They immediately fell in love, and Dennis proposed four weeks later. The couple were married May 31, 1973 at Christ the King Church in WaKeeney.
They soon decided it was time to start a family and were blessed with two boys: Matt in 1977 and Mike in 1980. The family settled in WaKeeney where Bernadine worked multiple jobs, until they had the opportunity to continue the Lyon Oil family business in Hill City in 1989. After 11 years of running the business, they decided it was time to move on and relocated to Salina and made their home there to this day.
Bernadine meant so much to many people. She was a selfless woman and caregiver. She always made sure you were well taken care of. Even at her lowest, she still always put others ahead of her own needs. Always willing to give her love and comfort to those close to her and anyone who came along. Whether it was a phone call, a text or randomly running into them and having a conversation, she just deeply cared. She even had a special empathy for sick plants in stores that she thought had little hope of surviving much less being bought. She would take them home and nursing them back to their glory, then waiting five years for them to bloom again, showing her patience and determination!
She loved cooking and expanding on old recipes. She had an extensive cookbook collection, mainly of local recipes that withstood the test of time. She never missed a chance to acquire a cookbook from any thrift store or garage sale that she thought would represent recipes from the times and places we all grew up loving as a family. Every visit to her home included a demonstration on a new gadget or tool to make cooking her favorite recipes easier. From a nutmeg grinder to a mixer, to special microwavable gadgets she thought would make things simpler. She loved showing off all her new utensils.
She was a devoted wife, mother, aunt and grandmother. In the early days of home life, she enjoyed cross-stitching and macrame, when she was not chasing her boys. Many weekends when the boys were growing up, she loved spending time playing board games with the whole family, especially Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Backgammon, Uno and Pictionary, sometimes playing way into the night and always accompanied by her favorite music playing in the background, and special fruit dips and condiments she loved. Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday. We knew that around that time, we were all headed to mom and dad’s house for several days of cooking, feasting and spending loving time with family.
Bernadine was preceded in death by her parents, Bernard Virgil Billinger and Lydia Mary (Schneider) Billinger-Hunt.
Bernadine is leaving a legacy of love for others to her family who will miss her dearly: husband of 53 years, Dennis L. Lyon of Salina; two sons: Matthew Lee (Melynda) Lyon of Gardner, Michael Todd and wife Kayla Lyon of Hill City; and two grandsons: Maxwell Elway Lyon and Pierce August Lyon; and a sister Bernadette Billinger of Centennial, Colorado.
A Rosary Service and Visitation will be at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Hill City, Kansas, at 9:00 A.M. Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10:00 A.M. Burial of Cremains will follow the Mass at Memorial Lawn Cemetery, Hill City, Kansas.
Memorials may be given to the KU Cancer Center, in care of Stinemetz Funeral Home, 522 N. Pomeroy Ave. Hill City, KS. 67642.