[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 156 (Thursday, December 2, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE LIFE OF FRANCES LOUISE LASTER HAYES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 2, 2010

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Mrs. 
Frances Louise Laster Hayes, the owner of T.H. Hayes and Sons Funeral 
Home in Memphis, Tennessee. She was born to Robert Laster and Maude 
Blair Laster in Fort Smith, Arkansas on January 9, 1907. Due to her 
mother's death, Frances and her three siblings, Mary, Clifford and 
Walter were raised by her father and aunt, Callie.
  Frances Laster attended Lemoyne Normal school, now Lemoyne College, 
in the 1920s. She studied commerce and earned a Bachelors degree in 
business administration. After graduation, Frances took a position at 
her family's lucrative business in Spring Lake, New Jersey. She worked 
there 8 years before returning to Memphis, where she married Taylor 
Hayes of Hayes Funeral home, the oldest continuing African-American-
owned business in Tennessee.
  When Frances Hayes married into the Hayes family at age 23, she had 
no experience in the funeral home industry. She started as a secretary 
working side-by-side with her husband and brother-in-law, learning the 
business of mortuary science. Earning her funeral director's license, 
Mrs. Hayes became one of the first licensed black female directors. 
Mrs. Hayes took over the Hayes funeral home with the help of family 
members when her husband died in 1968.
  Mrs. Hayes received several awards and mentions over her lifetime. In 
2002, Mrs. Hayes was awarded the President Award of Excellence from the 
National Funeral Director and Mortician Association Inc. and was also 
an honorary member of Who's Who of Black Funeral Directors. In 
recognition of the 100th anniversary of T.H. Hayes and Sons Funeral 
Home, she was honored by Grace Magazine, the Commercial Appeal and the 
Tri-State Defender. She was prominent in social and civic realms and 
was a member of the Memphis Dinner Club, once described as one of the 
most exclusive black social clubs in America. She was also a member of 
the 2nd Congregational Church in Memphis, Tennessee.
  At 103 years old, Frances Hayes was the epitome of a family 
matriarch. Her life experiences were widespread, including WWI and 
WWII, Vietnam, The Gulf, The Great Depression, modernization of the 
auto, the assassinations of M.L. King, John F. Kennedy, and Robert 
Kennedy, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Birth of Blues with WC 
Handy. Just two years ago she said ``I can't believe we have a Black 
president, and she's such a beautiful First Lady.''
  Frances Hayes passed away Sunday, November 21, 2010 at the age of 103 
at Methodist University Hospital. Mrs. Hayes' legacy lives on through 
her nephew Powers Thornton, Jr., her brother-in-law's daughter, Tommye 
Kay Armstrong and her Godsons, Antonio Benson, Eddie Brooks, Elbert 
Webster and her dozens of nieces and nephews. We are honored for her 
dedication to Memphis, Tennessee and her contributions to the Memphis 
community. Hers was a life well lived.

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