Joe W. Hayes, Sr. – February 14, 2012

Joe W. Hayes, Sr., 94, of Borger, died Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012 in Amarillo.
Memorial services will be at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012, at First Methodist Church of Borger with Pastor Johnny Robertson officiating.  Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2800 Paramount Blvd.
Joe was born in Clarkesville on April 2, 1917 to William C. Hayes and Dulcenia (Bateman) Hayes.  Joe graduated from high school in Allison, and received bachelors and masters degrees from West Texas College.  Joe was an outstanding athlete, having lettered four years in both football and basketball at West Texas College, graduating in 1939.
Joe taught school in Allison and Plemons from 1939 to 1941, and joined the U.S. Navy in 1942.  During that time, Joe was a member of the Norfolk, Va. Naval Air Station basketball and baseball teams, where he played with numerous professional athletes, including Hank Luseti, Pee Wee Reese and Dominick DaMagio.  In 1944, the Norfolk Naval Air Station basketball team was declared the Nations’ No. 1 Team among all college teams, today’s equivalent of the national championship.
Joe married Nell B. Hayes on July 17, 1943, and after being discharged from the Navy in 1945, Joe and Nell moved to Phillips, where Joe coached football and basketball, became principal of the Junior High School and retired in 1983, from the position of tax assessor and business manager of Phillips I.S.D.  Joe was very proud of his association with Phillips I.S.D. and the hundreds of students with whom he came in contact, many of whom continued to come by to visit with Coach Hayes.  Based on his athletic and coaching achievements, Joe was named as a member of the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, an award of which he was very proud.
After his retirement in 1983, Joe continued to live the Meadowlark Addition west of Borger, and was active in church and community affairs, including his service as a member of the Board of Trustees for Frank Phillips College.  Nell Hayes passed away in September, 1990 and Joe continued to live by himself with the help of his friends, Roger and Susan Bellville, Harvey and Sandra Hilbert, and Chuck and Nancy Nichols.  In 2011, a book, An Unassuming Man, was written about Joe’s life, and was aptly titled.
Joe was a Methodist and a Mason.
Joe’s good humor and wise counsel will be missed by his family and those who knew him.
Joe is survived by his son, Joe W. Hayes, Jr., and wife Karla Hayes of Amarillo, his son, Aubrey W. Perry, and wife Joan Perry of Mesquite; his grandson, Joe W. Hayes, III, and wife Tessa Hayes of Canadian; his granddaughter, Aimee Lewis and husband, Scott of Sunnyvale; his great-grandsons, Will Hayes and Jake Hayes, both of Canadian; and his great-granddaughters, Ashlee Roulette and Sheridan Lewis, both of Sunnyvale.
The family requests memorials be to the First Methodist Church, 200 North McGee, Borger, Texas 79007.

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