Harold Hayes

Harold Hayes, of Groesbeck, passed away Thursday, October 20, 2011, at Providence Health Center in Waco, at age 84. Graveside services will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, October 22, 2011, at the Pavilion in Faulkenberry Cemetery, with Reverend Steve Nance of the First United Methodist Church of Groesbeck officiating. Pallbearers will be Jimmy Goodrich, Catarino Lopez, Andy Beldin, Scott Frank, Troy Young, and Kevin Copeland. Harold was born March 21, 1927 to Parker D. and Nora (Wimbish) Hayes in Groesbeck, where he lived and attended school. Harold was a well-known and respected man in the Groesbeck community, and was especially appreciated for his active life in spite of his physical limitations resulting from polio when he was age two. He attended Texas A&M for two years, where he traveled around campus on a scooter. He was a cattle rancher, who did not let his crutches stop him from riding horses, penning and working cattle, raising hogs, and riding the tractor. He loved animals, and especially his dogs. He worked at the Groesbeck Auction Barn for over twenty-five years, writing tickets on cattle as they went through the ring, and he also drove to Waco for some years to work at the Leggott Livestock Auction. He might be found several times a day at the ranch, but he also devoted time to service for his church and community. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Groesbeck, where he served as the church secretary for several years. Harold was a forty-one year member of the Groesbeck Lions Club, and served as secretary-treasurer for approximately thirty years. He was a “Melvin Jones Fellow” through Lions International Foundation, and was carried as the only live member of that from the Groesbeck Lions Club. Harold used his agriculture experience in serving on the Limestone-Falls Soil Conservation District Board for many years, rarely missing a meeting. Mr. Hayes was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Parker Hayes, Jr.; and two sisters, Nona Pearl Hayes and Mary Goodrich. He is survived by a sister and brother-in-law, Lou and Guy Durham of Groesbeck; niece, Brenda Copeland and husband Jimmy of Groesbeck; niece, Tomi Lue Beck of Nashville, Tennessee; nephew, Jimmy Goodrich and wife, Debbie of Groesbeck; niece, Mary Garlan Little of Groesbeck; and several great and great-great nieces and nephews.