Joyce Constance Hayes

Joyce C. Hayes went to be with her Lord on June 9, 2015. She passed away peacefully in her sleep at 91 years of age after a brave struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease and Aortic Stenosis. She is survived by her loving husband, Robert Bruce Hayes, and two daughters: Susan (Clifton) Neeley of Greeley and Sally (Jeffrey) Levin of Lakewood. A son, William (Julia) of Tulsa, Oklahoma preceded Joyce in death.

Grandchildren include: Nathan (Rhiannon) Levin of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Christa (Joshua) Mullins of Acapulco, Mexico; Nicole (Joel) Spector of Denver; Lisa (Ryan) Hunter of Cheyenne, Wyoming; Brianna Neeley of Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacob Levin (deceased), James (Erika) Neeley of Highlands Ranch; and Elizabeth Hayes and Stephanie Hayes, both of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Joyce is also survived by eleven great grandchildren.

Joyce was born on January 10, 1924, to Peter and Theresa Priester in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Five years later her sister Mary Ellen joined the family. It was in Kalamazoo that both girls contracted polio. Soon following their recovery, Peter moved the family to Columbus, Ohio, where he continued to pursue a career with a uniform and regalia company. There Joyce attended school through high school, excelling at writing, swimming, and dancing. She was a cheerleader for the Columbus Red Birds.

After studying at Ohio State for one year, she moved with her family to Cambridge, Massachusetts. She applied to a women’s college nearby, but when she was told she would be required to take her freshmen year over again, she decided to join the workforce. Becoming a Radar Technician at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she assisted in the war effort.

Joyce had attended Dutch Reformed and Presbyterian churches throughout her youth, but here they joined the Old Cambridge Baptist Church. A certain military man by the name of Bob also happened to attend worship and youth functions. He was an ensign studying encoding and decoding at Harvard. Bob persuaded her to accompany him to a basketball game, and she reciprocated by showing him the Christmas sights around Boston.

Bob was sent back overseas, but they corresponded when they could. When the war ended and Bob came back from Okinawa, he called on her in Chicago, where she and two friends were now working. Soon he relocated to the University of Oklahoma, and as soon as he was established there, he visited Joyce’s family, proposed, and married her just after Christmas in 1947.

Following Bob’s graduation in 1949, they moved to Colorado and joined the First Baptist Church of Golden. Joyce found employment at the Denver Post, working in the morgue, a job she loved. Bob began a 30-year career with the Bureau of Reclamation. Together they began a family; Bill, Susan, and Sally were born within a three-year span. They had a good family life consisting of church activities, music lessons, and family car trips.

Joyce worked as church secretary at First Baptist for several years under Pastor Wm. Fletcher. When Bob retired and took up consulting work, they traveled together, sometimes with the Colorado Chorale. Bob took consulting jobs in Indonesia and Joyce joined him there for two years.

Their children married and gave them grandchildren they loved. After returning from Indonesia, they learned their son Bill had been diagnosed with cancer. He fought a brave fight, working at his engineering job until his last days. Joyce and Bob supported his family with visits and help, and in the end suffered his loss.

In later years they both served with the Gideons, an organization of professional men and their wives dedicated to spreading the Word of God throughout the world. Joyce began what she thought of as a personal mission: knitting heavy winter scarves to distribute each holiday season at the Denver Rescue Mission. She created nearly 100 of them a year for several years. She would attach a scripture verse to each scarf before taking them to the mission. To this day, the homeless can be seen wearing them on the streets of Denver.

Joyce’s diagnoses of heart issues and Alzheimer’s Disease tested her, but Joyce triumphed, handling it with grace through the limitless support and love of her husband. We rejoice that she has now been united with her Savior, Friend, and Lord.