Schenectady woman’s selflessness, devotion recalled
Former City Council candidate helped others through church, giving
SCHENECTADY — Stephanie Hayes was a devoted member of St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church and die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, her friends said.
A lifelong Schenectady resident, she recently made a failed bid to win a seat on the City Council as part of a slate of Republican candidates. Peggy Anderton, a close friend of 15 years, said Hayes had hip replacement surgery on Dec. 19, and seemed to be recovering nicely.
She went into cardiac arrest at home on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and was later pronounced dead at Ellis Hospital. Autopsy results are awaited to determine the exact cause of death. She was 63.
“Whether or not Stephanie had two nickels to rub together, she always gave to another person,” said Anderton.
She recalled the time a needy woman, who had just gotten out out of the hospital, walked into the church looking for help. Hayes said she had some clothes that might fit the woman so Anderton drove them to Hayes’ studio apartment. Hayes went through her closet and they got the woman some outfits before taking her to the drug store for personal care items.
Hayes, who didn’t drive, relied on CDTA buses for her daily travels and she got to know some of the drivers. She would open the doors of her downtown apartment to them on the holidays in the days before the pandemic, Anderton said.
“On holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas and other times, she would make large trays of ziti, lasagna, turkey… CDTA bus drivers knew they could stop by her apartment for a hot meal,” added Anderton.
She said Hayes, who worked as the officer manager for a local plumbing company and before that for the telephone company, volunteered with both St. Luke’s and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Besides church on Sundays, Hayes made time to root for her beloved Dallas Cowboys football team, said Anderton. She, Hayes, and a third woman named Kathleen Hutton bonded over dinner at least once, sometimes twice a week, and kept in touch almost on
a daily basis. Friends dubbed them the “The Three Musketeers” or “Charlie’s Angels.”
It was a friendship born out of their ties to St. Luke’s church.
“Stephanie took care of everybody else, but I think sometimes it was at the expense of taking care of herself, she just wanted to be doing things for others,” said Anderton.
Schenectady GOP Chairman Tom Kennedy said Hayes, who served as the treasurer of the Schenectady Republican party, was a compassionate woman who was heavily involved with St. Luke’s and helped keep him and others grounded.
“She made sure that whenever we looked at an issue that we really looked at the people behind the issue and the impact on them.” added Kennedy.
Mourners will be able to say final farewells to Hayes from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Daly Funeral Home, with a funeral mass at 1 p.m. at St. Luke’s Church. A reception will be held at 2 p.m. at the Ancient Order of Hibernians.