Hayes, "Eleanor" Bass

Eleanor Hayes and Husband Grayson Hayes

Eleanor Bass Hayes
 27 Oct 1922 - 21 Jan 2020
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Message from Eleanor - August 14, 2017

My name is Eleanor Bass Hayes. On October 27th of this year, I will be 95 years old. In my immediate family, Mom died at the age of 82 and Dad died at the age of 93. I had six younger brothers. All of them have passed away. I do not know of anyone in my extended family who has lived longer than I have. 

A long life brings the wonder of witnessing history firsthand and seeing lots of changes. I remember stories of uncles surviving the Civil War, before antibiotics, when even the slightest wound could be fatal. I lived through the Great Depression and lost all my savings when the local bank closed. My family was one of the first in the community to have a pull-chain electric light in our home. I can remember how happy we were when we got our first “Kelvinator” to keep food from spoiling and make ice for our water. Getting a washing machine with ringers was thrilling. And running water? What a luxury. I remember when my family did not own a motorized vehicle. My dad used mules to farm and a horse and buggy to go to church or to shop for the few groceries we could not produce. None of us could even imagine a television, much less a personal computer or smart phone.

After the United States was drawn into World War II by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Grayson, my boyfriend and future husband, was drafted into the service.  He flew 28 bombing missions over occupied Europe and Nazi Germany. Many of his buddies did not survive, but he returned home to father our four children. We were a typical American family of the time. He used a government program, the GI Bill, to be the first of his siblings to go to college. That experience changed our lives. From then on, our children always knew they were expected to get a college degree.

My children all grew up, married and have had their own children. And those children have followed in kind to have still more. The wheel of time just keeps turning. But I don’t want us to forget the past, the way things were, and our history. That is why I wrote my life story in July 2005 when I was 82 years old. I called the book Memoirs of Gramflakes. Click on the title to read it. 

Cover of Memoirs of Gramflakes

I am living at the home that Grayson and I built in 1953.  I love to talk to people about everything I’ve seen happen and the adventures I’ve had over the last 94 years.  Please stop by.    ― Eleanor

Pictured here are Eleanor's Father (Jesse Rae Bass) and her Mother (Lola Deese Bass)

along with Eleanor's six brothers Rea, Lee, Charles, Carson, Ed and Bill 

with wives Ruby, Kat, Polly, Billie, Lavon, and Betty.

Eleanor Bass Hayes

Following is the obituary for Eleanor Bass Hayes: Eleanor Bass Hayes of Monroe, NC died January 21, 2020. She was born October 27, 1922 to Lola Deese and Jessie Rea Bass, Sr. in Matthews, NC. She was the widow of Lt. Col. Grayson Hayes who died March 16, 1980. Eleanor was surrounded by her loving family and friends as she went to join her devoted husband and their Lord. She was loved dearly by all who were blessed to know her and will remain forever in their hearts and souls.

She is survived by the daughter she adored, Kaye Hayes Antis of Pass Christian, MS, married to Phillip J. Antis, Sr., and three sons whom she loved without qualification: Roger Grayson of Monroe, NC, married to Georgia “Peach” Hayes; Kent Lane of Weddington, NC married to Mary Grace Loftin Hayes and; Don Benet of Duluth, GA married to Deborah Beatenbo Hayes. Eleanor also considered Donna Bass as a member of the family. She appreciated Donna’s love and care ever since Eleanor returned home to Monroe from Florida.

Eleanor is survived by eight grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. Her three granddaughters are Eleanor Kaye Antis, Katherine Antis Ferguson, married to Eric Ferguson and Rebecca Leigh Hayes. Her five grandsons are Phillip Jay Antis Jr., married to Katie Taylor Antis, Charles Grayson Hayes, married to Jennifer Mayer Hayes, Roger Pearce Hayes married to Sarah Riley Hayes, Don Spencer Hayes married to Jennifer Zolnik Hayes, and Rex Lane Loftin Hayes married to Karima Hernandez Hayes.

Her seven great grandsons are William Tyler Hayes, Grant Spencer Hayes, Phillip Jay Antis III, Charles Taylor Antis, Benjamin Grayson Hayes, Charles Mayer Hayes, and John Pearce Hayes. Her four great granddaughters are Avery Elizabeth Hayes, Vera Kaye Ferguson, Evelyn Marie Ferguson, and Mary Georgia Hayes. Eleanor, the oldest of seven children and the only girl, was preceded in death by her parents, Jesse and Lola Bass and her six brothers, Rea, Lee, Carson, Ed, Charles, and Bill.

She was a civil servant all her life. In World War II, she worked as secretary to the Quartermaster at Morris Field, Charlotte, NC, and in the office of the base hospital in Amarillo, Texas. After the war she worked in Monroe and Charlotte, NC for the Farmers Home Administration, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture and retired as District Loan Assistant.

Inspired by family friend Tom Shuford, Eleanor was happy to be a published author of her autobiography, "Memoirs of Gramflakes". She was proud that she set an example for others to record stories of their lives for posterity. The span of historical events she experienced during her 97 years is remarkable. When she was a little girl, she had elderly relatives who remembered the Civil War. She almost lost her father to the 1918 influenza pandemic. She grew up during the Great Depression on a hard scrabble subsistence farm, worried about her boyfriend – whom she eventually married – and her brothers surviving their service in WWII. She guided her husband through graduation at NC State on the GI Bill, raised her children through the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the turbulent sixties. She experienced amazing changes in technology over the course of her life: the miracle of electricity being pulled to her house, which led to running water, indoor plumbing, their first refrigerator, and a washing machine. She related how much better a Model T Ford was to their horse and buggy. She recalled the excitement of the family’s first television and how amazed she was at the power of personal computers and the internet.

She suffered the loss of her husband, her parents, her six younger brothers, her husband’s ten siblings, and many other loved ones and friends before her passing. Through it all, a deep abiding Christian faith allowed her to remain unfailingly cheerful, upbeat, and optimistic.

She will be buried beside her beloved husband Grayson. She always said she looked forward to reuniting with him in heaven. She will be sorely missed here on earth.

Visiting hours will be at McEwen Funeral Home of Monroe 204 S. Main St., Monroe, NC 28112 on Friday, January 24th, 2020 from 12:00 – 1:00pm. Funeral services will follow at 1:00 p.m. with internment at Lakeland Memorial Park 1901 Lancaster Ave, Monroe, NC 28112.

Should anyone desire to make a memorial donation in memory of Eleanor, please consider Hospice of Union County 700 W Roosevelt Blvd, Monroe, NC 28110.

Place of Burial: Lakeland Memorial Park; Monroe, NC, Union County