After serving in the military during World War II, Lee Hayes of Beebe spent more than 50 years doing the same job — working for his father-in-law at Powell & Co., a department store in Beebe.
“Dad was always the calming effect to settle things down when we would act crazy as teenagers,” said his youngest son, John Hayes. “He is just a pleasant guy who never forgets a name and was full of jokes — he could tell jokes all day long. … My biggest memory of him is just being the rock when we were going crazy as teenagers and making us into the adults that we are now.”
Lee Hayes, who will turn 95 on Dec. 15, has spent 72 years in Beebe. He served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1944-46, enlisting immediately after high school. He moved to Beebe after graduating from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and married Betty Jean Powell.
“I met this Beebe girl, and she dragged me down to White County,” he said.
The couple were married for almost 59 years before Betty, who was a 42-year breast-cancer survivor, died in 2008 after having a heart attack.
“I had a preconceived notion of what I wanted in a wife, and she fit the bill,” he said. “We made it pretty good for almost 59 years, and she was a well-liked person, and she made friends easily.
“Anybody who came to Beebe, she made it a point to meet them and invite them to church. She was an outgoing-type person. I was an introvert when I met her, and she reversed it.
“I changed really quickly.”
Hayes is originally from Joplin, Missouri, but his family moved to Fayetteville when he was just 3 years old. Hayes has two living sons, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His daughter, Marian Hayes Wilson, died in a car accident in 1988 at age 26. She was 6 months pregnant.
“We had the two boys, and [my wife] wanted a daughter, so we adopted Marian,” he said. “We brought her home when she was no more than a week old — she was an infant.”
John Hayes said he remembers getting the phone call the morning his sister died.
“There was just wailing, grief and disbelief,” he said. “It was chaos, but I think we did get closer because it was such a difficult year.
“We all deal with things like that differently, but I think that was kind of a turning point in our family. My mom would leave town on the anniversary of her death.”
Lee Hayes said that in 1956, there was a TV program that had a contest that would pay for a trip. So he and his wife entered the contest, writing that they would like to travel to Berlin in hopes of adopting a German child.
“We ending up winning and being guests of the city,” he said. “Even though we ended up adopting locally, [winning the trip] raised a lot of interest in the adoption of international children.
“We were on the front page of the Berlin papers for a whole week. It was quite a hoot.”
Hayes is a member of Beebe United Methodist Church and, for about 10 years, has volunteered at its food pantry three mornings a week. Senior Pastor Candace Barron said Hayes is an active member of the church and community.
“He is so rooted in Jesus, he can’t help but be reaching out to folks who are in need,” said Barron, who was appointed to the church in January. “And he never forgets a name. It doesn’t matter how long it has been. … He is just an outstanding man.
“He comes to church every week and greets everybody and makes everyone feel welcome.”
She said that recently, one of the teenagers at the church needed a safe place to stay and moved in with her. She said Hayes made sure the young man had enough money to buy any essentials he needed.
“He is a very generous man,” Barron said of Hayes.
Hayes has outlived two sisters, including one who died at age 10 of pneumonia, and two brothers. His son, John, said none of the men in his dad’s family has lived past 65.
“He got the lucky genes, I guess,” John said. “He is quite an inspiration. He has been quite an inspiration to a lot of these folks. He does a lot in the community, but he won’t tell anyone about it.”
“Everybody in his family died young, mostly with cardiovascular issues,” said Dr. Richard Hayes, Lee’s oldest son. “He has been lucky to have made it this long; plus, there have been significant improvements in the medical field.
“He is always in good spirits and has a good outlook on life. He is also always active.”
Lee said one piece of advice he would give to first-time dads is, “Spend all the time you can with your kids, and don’t ignore them.”
“My daddy worked all the time, and I didn’t know him that well,” Lee said. “Being raised during the Depression, he always had a job, and it took a lot of his time, working into the night.
“It just took time away from family. He was there when we needed him, but they are all gone now — I’m the last one.”
John said his dad has been in the Beebe Kiwanis Club for 71 years and is guessed to be the oldest active Kiwanian.
“Dad is just one of those laid-back guys who doesn’t get mad,” John said. “He always has a good sense of humor and never has a bad attitude.”
Richard has been a family physician in Jacksonville for 39 years.
“Dad is in good spirits nearly all the time and never says anything bad about anybody,” Richard said. “I wish I could be as good a man as he is.”
Lee said being a dad has been an “awesome responsibility, to say the least.”
“It is one of the hardest jobs, but also one of the best,” Lee said. “Raising kids and trying to lead them the right way — I feel like I succeeded in that.
“It is just a good job to have, and I am glad to have it. Those who have missed it have missed an experience.”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.