Last updated 5 October 2002.
The funeral of O. G. "Shorty" Hayes, 94, of [address omitted], Bloomington, a longtime Heyworth resident who has spent more than 70 years repairing and restoring furniture, will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Metzler-Froelich Memorial Home, Bloomington.
The Rev. Vernon L. Oakley will officiate. Burial will be in Park Hill Cemetery, Bloomington.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today at the memorial home.
Mr. Hayes died at 3:55 a.m. Wednesday (Jan. 10, 1990) at the Hopedale Medical Complex, Hopedale, where he had been a patient for one week.
He was born April 8, 1895, at rural Carlinville, a son of George and Carrie Mahan Hayes. He married Maybelle H. Barnes Nov. 27, 1913, at St. Louis, Mo. She died Sept. 23, 1983.
Survivors include a son, Lloyd Hayes, [address omitted], Bloomington; three daughters, Melba Morehead, [address omitted], Normal; LaVonne Nelson, Monticello; and Jenalee Macy, Heyworth; four brothers, Ralph Hayes, Springfield; Howard Hayes, Carlinville; John Hayes, Florida; and Glen Hayes, Texas; a sister, Imogene Thorpe, Edwardsville; nine grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and seven great-great grandchildren.
Two brothers, two sisters, and two great-grandchildren preceded him in death.
Beginning as a carpenter's assistant for 50 cents a day, he later was a self-employed contractor. In later years, he was known for his craftsmanship in restoring antique furniture, particularly fashioning fireplace mantels and bookshelves.
He worked until becoming ill last week. In a 1978 interview with The Pantagraph, Mr. Hayes scoffed at the notion of ever retiring. "I'm not going to retire until I have to," he said at the time. "You retire and you die."
Memorials may be made to the Heyworth Public Library or the Heyworth Ambulance Service.
[Photocopy of obituary courtesy of Louise Tosh. Transcribed by me.]
[This obit is almost identical to the Bloomington Pantagraph obit.]