The rah-rah girl from Willapa, who twirled a flaming baton and cheered for those that needed a cheerleader, sang her fight song for the last time on July 27, 2017.
Jonice Hayes was born to Iva and Bob Heckard in the Willapa Valley in 1936 and later became big sister to “Brother” Bob. Growing up she had a tremendous amount of fun with her friends Cleora, Lois, Kathleen and her cousins Joycie, Charlie Boy, Terry, Billy, and Janee. She always loved a practical joke and only got two hacks during her time at school. She played the tuba and clarinet, drove the tug when her dad “wasn’t feeling so well”, rode a cow named Isabell, and learned how to run a household early on.
She met Punk (Dave) Hayes on one of her “adventures” with Lois. Soon after, Grandma Gertrude approved, and they were married. The day after they returned from the honeymoon, her father-in-law Herbie Hayes returned from their wedding, and altogether the three formed a cozy household on Cedar Street in Aberdeen.
When Punk joined the Navy and went off to serve time “in the big one”, Jonice went to DeWitt’s Beauty School and later fixed the hair of many “ladies of the night”. Then Tim came along, soon followed by Toni, Tami, and Tari. She dressed them like the Von Trapp family in matching fabric (in case one got lost she’d know what they were wearing). Still, they were always treated as individuals, and she recognized them for their uniqueness.
She was a model wife, mother, grandma, aunt, neighbor and friend, and her door was always open for a cup of coffee, glass of Spañada, or bowl of goulash (heavy on the bouillon cube) in South Aberdeen, 4th Street, or Summit Lake. She made the holidays special for Randy, Daryl, Cliffy, and Bobby, and rolled out the red carpet of toilet paper for anyone who needed to be treated royally.
As a para-educator for the special needs class at Aberdeen High School, Jonice taught many teachers how to do their job, treating the special needs students as valuable members of society and teaching the most important skill of all – how to have a sense of humor.
She moved to Summit Lake for good in 1989, and officially became “Old Lady” Hayes. She saved the lives of many foster children (13 in all) and shelter dogs (4) while maintaining her spiciness through it all.
Doing the belly button dance and preparing a stinky slug bucket, she was the coolest grandma ever. She was present at the birth of every grandchild, made cinnamon rolls every holiday, and came to Turkey to rock the Bosphorus International School. She became very popular in the village of Demircikoy; the market man hit on her every time she’d buy smokes.
While at Summit Lake, Mom and Valerie Eronemo would trespass onto the power lines to collect those precious wild blackberries, and her children feared they would have to bail her out of the big house every time she ventured out with Mary Higgins. Now, they’re all together again with shovels and buckets in tow, breaking all the rules. Go for it, ladies!
Survived by her beloved grandchildren Duru, Arman, Jon, Anne, Baylee Boop, Hanna, and Stella, Jonice will be riding off into the sunset on her riding mower and bidding a fair adieu to her children Tim, Toni, Tami, Tari, Atilla, Pat, and Jenny. Wait Mom, Max the dog is still tied to your bungee cord…
A memorial potluck to celebrate Jonice will be held at The Summit Lake Community Center on Aug. 12, at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, Jonice wanted donations made to the Virginia Mason Pancreatic Fund at virginiamasonfoundation.org. Be sure to tell them that Jonice sent you.
