Mary Lou Hayes
1916
Aug. 3, 2018 Mary Lou Hayes of Durham, N.C., passed away on Aug. 3, 2018, at age 102 years. She was predeceased by her husband of 62 years,
A. Truman
Hayes; and two sisters, Frances (O’Brien)
Young and
Clara Mae (O’Brien) Viles. She is survived by her daughter, Linda Gerber (Gerald) of Durham, N.C.; son, Dan (Alison) Hayes of Canandaigua, N.Y.; grandchildren, Carl Gerber (Kelly), Susan Smoak (Wayne), Rachel Hayes (Cathy Stover), and Brooke Burlison (Larry); great-grandchildren, Jason Matthew and Jeffrey Truman Gerber; Hunter O’Brien, Savannah Rose, and Amanda Elizabeth Smoak; Jackson Daniel Hayes; and Holden Truman Burlison; and nephew Mike (Karen) Viles.
Mrs. Hayes was born in 1916 in Pineville, Mo., to John F. and Grace (Mosier) O’Brien and during most of her adult years resided in Lyons, Ellinwood, and Emporia, Kan., and Stockton, Mo. She was a pioneer among women who worked outside the home in addition to raising a family. She held jobs as a bank teller and accounts clerk, bookkeeper, Kansas State Employment Service placement officer, Juvenile Count Probation Officer, and Paralegal. She especially prided herself in the work she did for wayward and troubled youngsters to place into youth homes in order to reverse their misfortune and provide for their subsequent successful upbringing. She was named “Woman of the Week” by the Emporia Gazette newspaper in the mid-1960s and was active in the United Methodist Church and Altrusa Club. She and her husband were also institutional representatives of Emporia (Kan.) State University as Danforth Associates. She was a dominant motivating and supporting force and example to her husband as well as her children during their formative years. She was highly intelligent, articulate, possessed a strong sense of humor and Christian faith, and maintained — as perhaps her greatest strength — as positive an attitude toward life as perhaps any other living person.
A private memorial service and celebration of her life will be held at her family’s convenience. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Emporia State University Foundation and designated to the Truman and Mary Lou Hayes Scholarship Fund.
Condolences may be shared at Cremation SocietyNC.com