Ligonier woman brought joy through art

Regina Hayes’ paintings adorn the walls of her friends’ and family’s homes.

She was an avid self-taught painter and crafter, who spent many years as a member of the Oak Grove Art Club.

“She really took a lot of pride in her crafts, and her paintings,” said her daughter, Laurene Campbell.

Regina F. Ulery Hayes of Ligonier died Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019. She was 80.

She was born July 15, 1938, in Owensdale, to the late Alva E. and Hattie Irene (Brown) Ulery.

She met her husband, Fred Hayes, at a baseball game.

“She caught my eye there, and we dated for two years, and after I graduated from pharmacy school we were married on Thanksgiving Day,” Fred Hayes said.

While they were dating Mr. Hayes sold his blood platelets to be able to afford her a gift.

They were married 60 years.

They raised four children. Mrs. Hayes loved entertaining for the holidays, decorating the house and cooking big meals for as many as 30 people.

“She had that knack for making everything look nice,” Campbell said.

Her top priority was caring for her children, her daughter Sherry Laughrey said.

“She just always wanted to make sure that everybody had what they needed,” Laughrey said.

Once her children were grown she went to work with her husband at Hayes Pharmacy in Ligonier. “We just seemed to know our customers on a first-name basis,” Mr. Hayes said.

When the family pharmacy closed, Fred and Regina Hayes moved to North Carolina for seven years, where Mr. Hayes found work at another pharmacy.

They returned home after retiring. Mrs. Hayes was an active member of Ligonier First Church of the Brethren, where she previously served as a deaconess and on numerous church activities.

She was also a member of the Red Hat Society, a volunteer with Meals on Wheels and the Valley Girls Investment Club.

Mrs. Hayes is survived by her husband, Fred Hayes, children; Sherry Laughrey and her husband, Patrick, of High Point, N.C., Laurene Campbell and her husband, Richard, of Wake Forest, N.C., David Hayes and his wife, Heather, of Richmond, Va., and Donald Hayes and his wife, Christine, of Milford; and six grandchildren.

Family and friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Snyder Funeral Home, 402 E. Church St., Ligonier. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday in the funeral home. Internment will follow in Ulery Cemetery, White, Pa.

Memorial contributions may be made to First Church of the Brethren, 405 Route 271, Ligonier, PA 15658 or to Bethlen Communities and Hospice, 210 W. Church St., Ligonier, PA 15658.

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jacob at 724-836-6646, jtierney@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Soolseem.