6/14/2012
Shirley Ann (Coon) Hays was born on April 16, 1935 in Vermillion, Minnesota the
daughter of Clayton and Irma (Hegwood) Coon. After moving to Knoxville, Iowa, Shirley’s
mother passed away and she was raised from an early age by her aunt and uncle, Leslie
and Etta Mettler. She always considered her aunt and uncle as parents, and her cousins
as siblings.
Shirley graduated from Knoxville High School with the Class of 1953. She worked
at Banker’s Life in Des Moines for a few years prior to her marriage. On November
24, 1957 she was united in marriage to Norman Riley Hays in Knoxville. To this union
two children, Eric and Sarah, were born. Shirley worked as a Nurse Aid for the Collins
Hospital, which later became the Knoxville Area Community Hospital, for many years.
Norman passed away on February 19, 1996 and in 1998 Shirley moved to West Des Moines
to be near family. She worked as a receptionist for Scottish Rite Park, in Des Moines,
until March of 2012 when health reasons forced her to retire.
Shirley was a very determined, purposeful and independent person. She was a staunch
member of the Republican Party, and always stayed informed of current events and
politics. Most importantly, she was a proud and supportive mother and grandmother.
Shirley passed away on Thursday, June 14, 2012 at the Iowa Methodist Medical Center
at the age of 77 years.
She was preceded in death by her parents: Clayton and Irma Coon and Leslie and Etta
Mettler; two brothers, Paul Mettler and Donald Coon and her husband, Norman.
Those left to honor her memory include her children, Eric (Carole) Hays of West
Des Moines and Sarah (Russ) Cusick of Southport, North Carolina; five grandchildren:
Aaron, Ryan and Andrew Hays and William and Melanie Cusick; her sister, Virginia
(Marvin) Gilliland of Des Moines and many other family members and friends.
Celebration of Life Service
Bybee & Davis Funeral Home – Knoxville, Iowa
Monday, June 18, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.
Danielle Bertrand, Celebrant
Musical Selections
Geoffrey Shultz, pianist
“In the Garden”
“You’ll Never Walk Alone”
Casket Bearers
Aaron Hays, Ryan Hays
Andrew Hays, Larry Hays
Marvin Gilliland, John Gilliland
Honorary Casket Bearers
William Cusick Melanie Cusick
Interment
Graceland Cemetery – Knoxville, Iowa
The family would like to thank Shirley's long time family doctor, Dr Earl McKeever,
her oncologist Dr Steve Heddinger,
and the many doctors and nurses at John Stoddard Cancer Center and Iowa Methodist
Medical Center for their care and support.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the John Stoddard Cancer
Center at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.