HAYES, Arthur C.

Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, Arizona June 25, 1987, page 2 No services were planned for Arthur C. Hays, 78, of Wickenburg who died June 19 in Wickenburg Community Hospital. Cremation was conducted by the Wickenburg Funeral Home. Mr. Hays died after a long illness with Parkinson’s disease. He was born Sept. 21, 1908 in Lansing, Mich. living in Pontiac and Franklin Village, Mich., before coming to Wickenburg. He was a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church. In Wickenburg, Hays took an active interest in many community endeavors and clubs. He was a revered artist and enjoyed a following among local art lovers. A resident of Desert Cypress Trailer Ranch for 18 years, he was a member of the Garden club and the Gem and Mineral Club. An excellent photographer, he was also a member of the Camera Club. Hays helped renovate the first Wise Owl building on South Tegner Street, and had been an active member of the Wickenburg Area Board for 14 years. Hays restored furniture for the Maricopa County Historical Society and Desert Caballeros Museum, painted two murals and built most of the Vulture Mine Diorama, tinted the interior photographs of the Hassayampa Building and the bank. Hays was an honorary member of the Wickenburg Club and the Pontiac, Mich., Society of Artist for many years. His latest one-man show was a cooperative effort of the Art Club and the Friends of Music in October, at the Friends of Music Concert. He was one of the first members of the Friends of Music. He played piano, organ, piccolo and double bass. He sang in operettas and the McDowell Male Chorus in Pontiac. Graduating as an electrical engineer from Michigan State University in 1933, Hays became an automotive project engineer, working for General Motors, Ford, the federal government and a number of small companies. His great joy was seeing the Sheriff’s Posse International Scouts in the local Gold Rush Parade, knowing he had designed the chassis with the best of materials. Working at Chrysler Motor Company during World War II, Hays received an oral thank you from the British government for the part he played in the installation of the first radar on a truck. Because it could be moved every night, Britain was able to hold out against the last of Germany’s blitz attack. Survivors include his wife, Mary Ellen of Wickenburg; one daughter, Mary Hays Neufeld of Redway, Calif.; two sons, Edward A. Hays of Walled Lake, Mich., and William A. Hays of Pontiac, Mich.; and eight grandchildren.