Hayes, Jack "Jay" Irby Jr.

Jack Irby Hayes Jr., has been called “Jay” since childhood .  He was born August 13, 1944.  As a good Presbyterian, he was educated at Hampden-Sydney College. Jay earned his M.A. in history at VPI and his Ph.D. in history at the University of South Carolina.  He has served as a professor of history and political science at Averett University in Danville since 1974. Dr. Hayes is the Chair of the Department of History and Political Science.   Jay says, "At seventy-three years of age, I play tennis, golf, and bridge poorly; the only thing I do well is teach American history.  So I will remain in harness for at least the near future." Jay and his wife Bernadine Arnn (Bunny) Hayes have two daughters:

▪ Emily Wilson Hayes Barbacci of Tallahassee, Florida.
Emily is a social studies teacher at Lawton Chiles High School in Tallahassee, where she was Teacher of the Year for Leon County and a runner-up for Teacher of the Year for the State of Florida in 2009.  Her husband Jeff is a CPA and partner in the Tallahassee accounting firm of Thomas, Howell, and Ferguson. Emily and Jeff have two children:
     Dominic Joseph
     Anthony Louis


▪ Julia Arnn Hayes Fretwell of Richmond, Virginia. 
Julia earned an M.B.A. and Master of Science in Health Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and currently is the chief administrator of Our Lady of Hope in Richmond.  Her husband Matt is a Baptist minister who will earn his  D.Min. from Southeastern Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, in December.  Julia and Matt have one daughter: Caroline Hayes

The full text of an email that Jay sent on August 7, 2017 follows: 

Good Afternoon, Roger,
          Thank you so much for including me on the email/blog.  I have only been able to visit my Hayes relatives in Monroe once since discovering their identify.  My mother used to say that my father had an especially “sweet disposition,” and my visit to Monroe confirmed  my hunch that this disposition is in the genes.  Everyone there  was so hospitable.

          My father, Jack Irby Hayes, Sr., was the second son of Walter, who was the first son of William Thomas, who was the only son of John Nelson Hayes by wife Margaret Gay.   In the late 1890s, Walter left Monroe for Danville to work in the Riverside Division of Dan River Mills where he spent his entire career.  He started as a carpenter and eventually worked in Engineering, although I believe he was “hourly” his entire career.  He and my grandmother, Nancye Lewis Williamson Hayes, had three children—Frederick Amiss Hayes, Minnie Helen Hayes, and Jack Irby Hayes, who was named for Stonewall Jackson Irby, one of his mother’s relatives.  The first son went by “Amiss,” which is a Virginia surname.  He disliked so much having it misspelled that he changed it himself to Amos.  The daughter went by Helen.  My father went by Jack, of course. 

          Helen married several times but had no children.  The family lost contact with Amiss after he left home in anger in the l920s.  He had one son, Landon, now deceased, by his first wife, and another son, David, by a second wife.  We believe there are daughters by a third or fourth wife.  He evidently inherited the John Nelson Hayes genes. 

          Jack Irby Hayes, Sr., was an accountant and office manager for most of his career, ending as an auditor with the Virginia Department of Sales and Use Taxes after serving for a few years as the head of the Sales and Use Tax Division in Danville, Virginia.  His wife and my mother, Minnielee Conner Hayes, was a public school teacher and guidance counselor.  They were happily married for 37 years before my father’s untimely death in 1977 at 57 years of age of a massive heart attack.

          Jack and Minnielee Hayes had three children—Nancy Jo Hayes, who died of whooping cough in 1941 at five months of age, Jack Irby Hayes, Jr., called since childhood “Jay,” and Walter Eugene Hayes, called since childhood “Gene.”  Jay was born August 13, 1944; Gene, on May 18, 1949.  As good Presbyterians, both sons were educated at Hampden-Sydney College.  After graduation, Gene went to work for Travelers Insurance but left after a few years to become a partner in Moses, Hayes, and Willeford Insurance in Danville.  He has been active in the Professional Insurance Agents organization, serving as president of the PIA of Virginia and the District of Columbia, as well as a member of the national PIA board of directors.  Jay earned his M.A. in history at VPI and his Ph.D. in history at the University of South Carolina.  He has served as a professor of history and political science at Averett University in Danville since 1974.

          By his first wife, Donna Bryant Hayes, Gene has three children—Robert Dorman Hayes of Tyler, Texas; Mary  Lewis (Molly) French of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Dorothy Heather (Heather) Barrow of Fort Mill, South Carolina.  Molly and husband Chris have one son (Andrew), while Heather and husband Neal have one daughter (Avery) and twin sons (Carter and Conner). Both husbands work for Wells Fargo in Charlotte.   For the past twelve years, Gene has been happily married to Dixie. 

          Jay and Bernadine Arnn (Bunny) Hayes have two daughters—Emily Wilson Hayes Barbacci of Tallahassee, Florida, and Julia Arnn Hayes Fretwell of Richmond, Virginia.  Emily is a social studies teacher at Lawton Chiles High School in Tallahassee, where she was Teacher of the Year for Leon County and a runner-up for Teacher of the Year for the State of Florida in 2009.  Husband Jeff is a CPA and partner in the Tallahassee accounting firm of Thomas, Howell, and Ferguson.  Julia Fretwell earned an M.B.A. and Master of Science in Health Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and currently is the chief administrator of Our Lady of Hope in Richmond.  Husband Matt is a Baptist minister who will earn his D.Min. from Southeaster Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, this December   Emily and Jeff have two children—Dominic Joseph and Anthony Louis; Julia and Matt have one daughter—Caroline Hayes. 
          Thanks again for all of your work on this project. 
          With warn regards,


          Jack Irby (Jay) Hayes, Jr.

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