BAIS, Jesus Hernandez

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona, Wednesday, August 20, 2014 Jesus Hernandez Bais was born Nov. 5, 1929, in Jerome, Ariz., and entered peacefully into eternity on Aug. 16, 2014. His parents were Cruz Hernandez and Perciliano Baez. He was named Jesus Hernandez Bais after his grandmother, Jesus Serratos. She took him to California and raised him. He worked as a dishwasher and picked different harvests while growing up. Due to the harvesting season, he missed time in school. He dropped out of eighth grade due to this. He met Ruth Manriquez and they married on April 29, 1950. They had five children, Jesus Jr. (JoEll), Julian (Sharon), Sylvia (Perry), Elias (Jane) and Delia (Todd). He started working in Jerome in the mine. The mine closed in 1951 and he was transferred to Bisbee, Ariz. He didn't want to move down there, so he moved to Mayer to be near his mother. He worked at various local mines for about a year until he was hired at the Iron King Mine in Humboldt. He heard rumors that the mine was closing down, so he took a position with Mayer schools in 1964. He was the bus driver and custodian for the school district. He then started working for the Arizona Department of Transportation in 1971. He was assigned the rest area at Sunset Point, and it won a national honor for being one of the cleanest rest areas in the nation. He retired in 1991 from the Arizona Department of Transportation. His hobbies were many and varied. He made knives, sculptures, baseball bats, rubber band rifles, crosses out of wood, onyx and metal, and was fascinated by magic tricks, but his pride and joy was gardening. He loved playing games with the family, dominos, cribbage, horseshoes and especially poker. He was always sharing his talents with others - art, gardening, etc. He is survived by his five children, 12 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren, as well as his siblings, John Olvera, Margarita Enriquez, Richard Baez and Elvira Nicascio. He was a great provider, loyal husband and great daddy. Visitation is from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014, followed by the Rosary; and on Friday, Aug. 22, visitation is from 10 to 11 a.m., followed by a funeral mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 10901 S. Highway 69, Mayer, Ariz. In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church, P.O. Box 171, Mayer, AZ 86333 or to Hospice of the Valley, 5801 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85054. Arrangements entrusted to Sunrise Funeral Home in Prescott Valley, Ariz. Information provided by survivors.