Dorothy Matilda Hayes

Dorothy M. Hayes: April 29, 1925 – February 4, 2022. Born Dorothy Matilda Finnerty to William A. Finnerty and Matilda (Shay) Finnerty in Staten Island, NY on April 29, 1925. Best known as Dotsie, Dottie, Dot, Mom and Gram, she was the highly respected and beloved matriarch of her family. A loving wife to Edward J. “Bubby” Hayes; sister to William E. “Billy” Finnerty; a devoting mother to Maureen D. Mescia (Hayes) and Donna E. Doherty (Hayes); a cherished grandmother of Colleen A. Hayes, Nadine D. Mescia, Kelly L. Doherty, Donald F. Mescia Jr., and Keith M. Doherty; the great-grandmother to Donald Mescia III, Dalton Mescia, Nicholas Wise, Megan Doherty, Chelsi Mescia, Richard Wise, Phineas Padgett, and Nina Mescia; grandmother-in-law to Melissa L. Mescia (Johnson), Laurie A. Doherty (Williamson), and Gloria M. Lopes Dias; and Aunt Dot to numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Dottie was the most loving, caring, kind, generous, wise, proud, strong, independent, intelligent, beautiful, brave, vibrant, classy, and strong-minded woman. She was highly respected, regarded, admired, cherished, and loved by all. She was a role model, mentor, matriarch, and inspiration. She lived nine lives in one; and she always spoke her mind and stood her ground. She was the glue that held her family together and the “wind beneath her family’s wings.”

After gracing those who knew her for nearly 97 years, on February 4, 2022, Dottie was called by the Lord to enter her eternal home with Him and reunite with those she loved and who entered His kingdom before her. During her time here, she blessed us with her endless love, generosity, wisdom, and strength. We were strong when on her shoulders. She “raised us up to stand on mountains and walk on stormy seas.” It was because of her, that we “became more than we could be.”

She “lived a life that’s full”, residing in Staten Island NY, Union New Jersey, and Sarasota and Treasure Island Florida. She “traveled each and every highway; planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway. But more, much more than this, she did it Her Way.”

Immediately following funeral services at St. John’s Vianney Catholic Church in St. Pete Beach, her body will return to her beginnings in Staten Island, New York, where she will lay at rest with her beloved family members who have passed on before her. Although she chose to leave New York in her middle-age, New York never left her. She will return to the “city that doesn’t sleep” and where she forever remains “still number one, top of the list, head of the heap, and queen of the hill.”

So, “as our hearts hold her, just one beat away, we will forever cherish all she gave us, each and every day. She is our forever love, watching all of us from up above. And, as angels breathe, we believe that her love will live on and never leave.”

“May the road rise up to meet her; may the wind always be at her back; may the sunshine warm upon her face; and the rain fall soft upon her fields. And, until we meet again, may God hold her in the palm of His hands and bless and keep her always.” She is loved and cherished always and forever.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.beachmemorial.com for the Hayes family.