| | Essie Mae Woodard Hayes 
HAINES CITY -- Longtime Haines City resident Mrs. Essie Mae Woodard Hayes kept an eclectic garden, and its upkeep and vegetables helped provide her with a long and healthy life.
Mrs. Hayes died of heart failure Saturday (April 8, 2006). She was 94.
Born Sept. 27, 1911, in Dale County, Ala., Mrs. Hayes moved to Haines City from Blakely, Ga., in 1944.
Neighbors will remember Mrs. Hayes for the vegetables she shared from her garden. She also kept flowers, and was especially proud of her gladiolas, said her daughter Sybil H. Burch.
Some of Burch's favorite memories of her mother included attending church, where Mrs. Hayes was often honored.
"She received gifts for being the oldest mother," her daughter said.
She says her mother's long life resulted from a combination of clean living and home-grown vegetables. Her mother also selflessly supported her children. "She did anything she could for her children."
Mrs. Hayes was of the Assembly of God faith.
She was preceded in death by her husband, C.A. Hayes. She is survived by her sons, James M. Hayes, West Palm Beach, and Kenneth E. Hayes, Ormond Beach; daughters, Sybil H. Burch, Haines City, and Nell O'Neal, Davenport; 27 grandchildren; numerous great and great-great-grandchildren; and two great-great-great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at Oak Ridge Funeral Care, Haines City. Services will follow at 2 p.m. at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to Good Shepherd Hospice, 105 Arneson Ave., Auburndale, FL 33823; First Assembly of God, 102 First St., Dundee, FL 33838; or Eastside Baptist Church, 116 N. 22nd St., Haines City, FL 33844.
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