Avis Hays, 93, passed away October 15, 2016. Avis Marie Trump Hays was born December 9, 1922, on her family farm on Judson Road, Pinecreek Township, Polo, IL, the fifth child of Andrew Jerome and Almira Kriebel Trump. She attended Loughridge country school, graduated from Polo High School in 1940, attended Cornell University in Iowa, and returned home to marry Herbert C. Hays on March 14, 1942. She and her husband Herb returned to her birthplace after WWII where they farmed until 1963 when they moved to Polo, then Shannon, Freeport, and finally Dixon. Avis worked as a medical transcriptionist at the Freeport Hospital and later for the Medical Arts Clinic in Dixon. She retired at the age of 75. In 2009 she moved to Mt. Morris.
Avis is survived by two sons, Bill (Marcy) Hays, Chuck (Alicia) Hays, and one daughter, Nancy (Randy) Ocken; eight grandchildren, Julie (David) Bartimus, Laura Hays, Melissa (Patrick) Lyons, Carrie (Rick) Govek, Brooke (Dan) Hemsworth, Josh (Trish) Hays, Wyatt (Tracy Pizzalotto) Hays, and Sarah (Jeremy) Welt; ten great-grandchildren, Megan and John Lyons; Katherine Avis, Erin, Annie, Tess, Sara, and Mae Hemsworth; Max and Vivienne Metcalf; and three step-granddaughters, Mary, Alaina, and Melissa Govek. One of her great joys was meeting with her whole family for a week-end at the Pines every summer. When she moved to Pinecrest she insisted on bringing along her three bulletin boards covered with family photos.
Avis was an excellent knitter and seamstress. She knit afghans, sweaters, coats, intricate baby blankets, and Christmas stockings for her entire family and for many, many friends. She had a beautiful soprano voice; she sang in the choir and served as choir director at Polo United Methodist Church. She and Herb developed close friends, nicknamed The Gang, who met to play cards once a month: Crosses, Typers, Hammers, Poffenbergers and Glamans. Ladies of The Gang continue to meet for lunch.
Avis was preceded in death by her husband Herb; her parents; her brother Paul Trump; her sisters Lucile Cooper, Ruth Lenhart, and Nina Thomas; and her grandson Bryant Charles Hays.
The family wishes to thank the many staff members at Pinecrest Community and Serenity Hospice for their excellent, compassionate care.
Since White Pines State Park was one of Avis’s favorite places, those wishing to honor her with a memorial are asked to donate to “White Pines Friends”, or go to Illinois Conservation Foundation www.ilcf.org, “donate now”.
A memorial service will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, at Faith United Methodist Church, 702 E. Dixon St, Polo. Visitation will begin 1 hour prior at 10:00 a.m. until service time.
Condolences may be sent to pffh.condolences@gmail.com.
