Patricia Jane Hayes

Patricia aka ‘Patty or Pat’ Hayes, nee Woodward passed away peacefully on October 2 nd 2019 in
Grants Pass OR at 97 years of age.


Patty was born in Visalia CA on March 21, 1922 and grew up in Lindsay CA where her mother and
grandfather named many of the streets after universities. Being the Depression era, the family had
financial challenges with their small furniture store and yet without knowing if he would be repaid, her
kind-hearted father extended credit to local farmers and let them take home dressers, tables and baby
cribs. Patty’s family often took summer trips to the Sierras with Balch Park being a favorite. On one
summer trip, attempting to save her sister Phyllis from being swept down the Tule River, Patty fell in.
Both Woodward sisters had to be saved by another youth who pulled them to the riverside.
Patty graduated from Lindsay High School and continued her education at Modesto Junior College,
then Fresno State University to receive her Bachelor of Arts degree. Education was important to her,
having inspiration from her mother who graduated from Stanford around 1918. After completing her
degree, she moved to Watsonville CA to student teach. There she met Patrick Hayes at a pair of
mailboxes on the country road. Patrick the farm boy, was smitten with the co-ed. They were married
on August 26, 1946. After a short time in Davis CA while Patrick attended UC Davis, the pair made their
way to Porterville CA. Patty taught elementary school for 36 years with the majority in the third-grade
classroom at Doyle Elementary. After her husband Patrick’s passing in 2006, Patty moved to Grants
Pass OR to be closer to her son, Daniel.


Patty was an avid lifelong learner and enjoyed sharing, debating, and discussing her findings. She
subscribed to the Wallstreet Journal, news and science magazines, and filled her home with both fiction
and non-fiction works. She was a hard worker, a dedicated servant to her community and church and a
teacher in an underprivileged school. With any spare time, she spanned the globe with her traveling
companions, Patrick and her mother Nina. They visited southeast Asia, Egypt, Europe and dozens of
states in the U.S.


Patty was a parishioner of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Porterville CA and later, St. Luke’s Episcopal
Church in Grants Pass OR. She was a keen bridge player and hosted numerous bridge parties.
She was actively involved with the Barn Theater in Porterville where others could find her singing in the
chorus of the musicals, and occasionally playing a nun in the Sound of Music. She had leadership roles
in Kiwanis, the Porterville Garden Club and the American Association of University Women. Patty was
a devoted member of Delta Kappa Gamma.


Patricia Hayes is survived by her daughter-in-law Judy Hayes, grandchildren Kenneth Rafanan Jr. and
Natalie Seer, Tricia Rafanan Briggs and Peter Briggs, Justin and Kara Hayes, Melissa Hayes, Cory
Hayes and Josh May; and seven great-grandchildren, Jaxon, Madelynn, Waylon, Marin, Malakai,
Neaveh and Chloe. She is preceded in death by her devoted husband Patrick Hayes of 59 years, her
loving children, Daniel Hayes and Colleen May, and her sisters, Pamela Melton and Phyllis Schottky.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to the American Association of University Women.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 2, 2019, 2:00 pm at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.