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Obituary and Arrangements For Jeff Hayes 5/4/23

OBITUARY

Jeffrey Scott Hayes


DECEMBER 18, 1965 – APRIL 20, 2023

Jeffrey Scott Hayes, 57, passed peacefully on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at Holy Family Catholic Church, 919 NE 96th St, Kansas City, MO 64155. Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. with a funeral mass at 11:00 a.m. followed by a luncheon at the church. The service will also be available via live stream at www.holyfamily.com/funerals

Jeff was born in North Kansas City, Missouri on December 18, 1965, to Les Hayes and Colette (McCabe) Hayes. He graduated from Oak Park High School in 1984 and briefly attended Central Missouri State University, where he met his best friend and forever love, Chris Lyon. Chris and Jeff married on June 20, 1987, beginning a life together that was filled with love and adventure. The young couple loved to travel and spend time with family – a family that eventually grew with the additions of daughters Kaleigh and Maddison. Jeff was the ultimate girl dad, often teasing about life in an all-girl house. But everyone knew his girls were his pride and joy and his world. He enjoyed coaching their youth sports and supporting their activities, by far their biggest (and loudest) fan. Even in the flurry of raising the kids, Jeff and Chris realized the importance of getting away and creating lasting memories, often loading up and taking the family to Table Rock Lake. Jeff was very much family-first, and he always looked forward to getting everyone together over the holidays.

Jeff and Chris’s family extended beyond tradition, as they enjoyed the love and support of the most amazing group of friends. Some of those friendships started all the way back in grade school, and as the group grew larger with the addition of spouses and their own families, they still made a point to stay close and lean on each other. Jeff was truly someone who would drop anything to lend someone a helping hand, and he had surrounded his family with people who would do the same. Most weekends you could find them out with their crew, going to dinner, playing golf, or taking in a concert. Jeff’s love for his family and friends was unmatched, but that love reached an all-new height as he became a granddad to Ashlyn, Brooklyn, and Haddie. His face would light up when they came into the room, and he absolutely cherished every moment with them.

Jeff also took great pride in his work, and while he was successful in many things, he found his true calling in 2006 when he started a career with AT&T and became involved with the Communication Workers of America. Following in his dad’s footsteps, Jeff was very involved with the union, eventually shifting into a role in the union offices and serving as President of CWA Local 6360. Jeff went on to serve as a District 6 Campaign Lead with CWA and earned several distinguished honors over his career. In 2022 he earned the Seth Slocum Union Advocate of the Year award. He was also on many boards such as Vice President of Right to Truth, Executive Board of Supervisory Committee for Central Communication Credit Union, Delegate for AFL-CIO, and on the Executive Board for Missouri AFL-CIO.

Jeff had a heart for serving and making the world a better place, and he was able to do that every day by working to improve the lives of his colleagues. His position also afforded him the opportunity to touch lives beyond the workplace by supporting several philanthropies. Just a few of these included taking treats to the local Hospice House, handing out new shoes to kids through Soles for Christ, or perhaps his favorite, organizing an annual golf tournament to support Working Families’ Friend. Jeff was preceded in death by his father, Les Hayes, grandparents Kenneth and Elizabeth Hayes and Edward and Katherine McCabe and father-in-law Loren Lyon.

He is survived by Chris, his loving wife of 35 years; his children Kaleigh Beam (Brandon) and Maddi Hayes (Carter Jones), his grandchildren Ashlyn, Brooklyn, Hadleigh, and Baylor (Due October 2023), his mother Colette (Les), his sister Kelley McCollum (Jamie), his brother Steve (Krista), his mother-in-law Irena Lyon (Loren), nieces and nephews Paige Engelke (Spencer), Keller Hayes, Emi Boles (Ryan), and Casen Hayes as well as a long list of extended family and friends who loved him dearly. The family would like to thank the staff at KU Medical Center and Northcare Hospice House for their loving and compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Jeff’s honor to Working Families’ Friends at https://wffriend.org/donate/.

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