Mary Z. Hayman

Mary Hayman was born Mary Zeldora Deem in Parkersburg, West Virginia on May 8, 1916. Her parents were Roy and Zada Deem, who had married in Williamstown, West Virginia in October of 1913. Mary was the first child of five for Roy and Zada. They included sister Dottie and brothers Ken, Marvin and Lyle. The family remained in Parkersburg throughout her school years and beyond.

In 1923 Zada Deem became a Seventh-Day Adventist and Mary spent some years at the Seventh-Day Adventist school in Parkersburg. Mary did not finish her senior year of high school and went to work in 1933 at the age of 17 to help the family through the Great Depression. Her work in the years that followed included factory work and working as a department store salesperson. She later obtained her high school diploma in the 1950s from Santa Monica College in California.

In early 1942, Mary’s sister Dottie convinced her to contact an old acquaintance, George Hayman, when he was on leave from the US Navy. She followed her sister’s advice and an ensuing romance ended in marriage in October of 1942. The following year Dottie convinced Mary to move to California, where Dottie had been living for some time. Mary made the move to Venice, California in 1943, several months before she gave birth to her and George’s first child, Cheryl Georgeanne, who was born Nov. 9, 1943. Their next child, George Jr. was born Nov. 2, 1945.

George Sr. left the Navy in the same month that George Jr. was born. He started work as an aircraft assembler for McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, and the family continued to live in Venice, buying their first home there. In February of 1954, George and Mary had their third child, Gary Deem. Having grown too big for their small house, the family moved to a brand new house in Reseda, CA, in the Summer of 1954. They lived there until the Summer of 1958, and during this time Timothy Paul, George and Mary’s last child, was born in February of 1956.

In 1958 George and Mary separated and divorced. Although living separately, both George and Mary continued to be actively involved in raising the children. Mary and the children moved to Boyle Heights, where they lived from the Fall of 1958 until February of 1967. They lived in the area surrounding the White Memorial Hospital, Church, and School. Mary worked those 8+ years as a receptionist for the White Memorial Hospital’s OB-GYN outpatient clinic. It was a position she enjoyed and she was much appreciated by her co-workers.

These were special years for Mary, since the family lived only two blocks from their church and her work. George Jr. and Cheryl attended the White Memorial Union School and local L.A. high schools, while Gary and Tim attended the White Memorial Union School until the family moved to Loma Linda in 1967. Mary’s parents, Roy and Zada, also lived a short 1½ blocks away during this period. George Sr. lived only 6 miles away and visited the family 2-3 times a week, joining the family for holiday celebrations on a regular basis. All were thrilled whenever Mary used to bake her delicious and almost famous macaroni and cheese for Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner.

In February of 1967, Mary responded to an offer she couldn’t refuse. Her brother Lyle had just repainted and refurbished a 3-bedroom house he owned in Loma Linda, and he invited her to move to Loma Linda and live in that house. So Mary took him up on the offer and moved there with Timothy, Gary, Cheryl and Cheryl’s daughter of 3, Annette. Sometime later Cheryl and Annette moved to Glendale. Mary was thrilled to be living in the Seventh-Day Adventist community of Loma Linda. After working briefly for the admitting department of the old Loma Linda Sanatarium, Mary settled in at a full-time position in the Loma Linda University Mailroom, where she worked until her retirement in 1981. Besides various duties in the mailroom, Mary also delivered and picked up mail at the different departments on the university campus, getting a lot of walking in that helped keep her young for her age.

Mary lived with her three sons from 1968-71, George Jr. having moved in after serving two years with the Marines from 1966-68. George Sr. had also moved to Loma Linda in 1968 and worked as a piano tuner/technician. During the early 70s, Mary and George’s three sons lived some with both parents. From 1975-85 Mary lived on Anderson Street in Loma Linda, across from Loma Linda Academy. During this period, George Jr., who was on disability, lived with her. Her parents also lived with her for a period. Her father Roy passed away in 1976 and her mother Zada in 1982.

Mary moved out of the 3-bedroom house on Anderson Street and lived alone briefly in an apartment near the center of Loma Linda. George Jr. returned to live with Mary and they lived together for the greater part of the next 17 years. Mary was also George Jr.’s social security payee until the end of 2002. During these retirement years Mary enthusiastically participated in two different senior choirs. Additionally, Mary worked as a volunteer in the gift shop of Loma Linda University Medical Center. She enjoyed reading the San Bernardino Sun newspaper and doing crossword puzzles. She also continued studying the Bible and Sabbath School lessons, something she had been doing since the early years of her marriage to George Sr. She faithfully followed “As the World Turns”, a daytime soap opera that she first started watching in the 1960s.

In late 2002 George Jr. moved to a board and care home after a hospitalization at the Veterans’ Hospital in Loma Linda. In 2003 Mary had bilateral hip replacements in February and July. After the second hip replacement, Mary moved into the Palms assisted-living facility in Loma Linda, where she lived until early 2009. There she enjoyed the fellowship with fellow seniors at mealtimes in the dining room and at the various events put on for the residents. She also continued following Loma Linda University Church services and other religious programs on LLBN. She enjoyed visiting with family members and friends and celebrated holidays with family at the home of her son, Gary, and his wife, Joanne.

In early 2009 Mary moved into a smaller, family-run assisted-living facility, where she became like one of the family and experienced much personal care for the next 3½ years. Although her memory continued to decline and her body weakened, she had a smile ready for friends and family during those final years of her life. She continued to come to Gary and Joanne’s for holidays and birthdays, the most recent time for the celebration of her birthday and Mother’s Day in May of this year.

If there was one thing that distinguished Mary above all during her life, it was her love of God, her belief in the Bible and God’s plan of salvation, and her steadfastness in remaining loyal to her Seventh-Day Adventist roots. She believed in the Adventist mission and in the calling of Ellen G. White, with whose writings she was very familiar, like were her mother and father. She longed for the Second Coming and the Resurrection promised in Scripture, believing that God would come through as promised throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Mary will be missed by all those who knew her. Her family will especially feel her absence during the holiday seasons, when Mary was always there to enjoy the family company and the festive atmosphere.