LAWRENCE LOUIS HAYES M.D.

Lawrence Louis Hayes, M.D., 82, of Kansas City, Mo., passed away June 15, 2010. A celebration of life visitation will be held from 3-5 p.m. Saturday, June 19, at Mount Moriah Terrace Park Funeral Home, 169 Highway and 108th Street, Kansas City, Mo. Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers are suggested to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Heart of America Chapter in honor of his grandson, Dillon Hayes, and all those who are affected by this disease. Born in Kansas City, Kan., to Wilbur Scott Hayes and Theresa Spandle Hayes, Lawrence Louis Hayes spent countless summers in rural Wyandotte County at the farm of his German immigrant grandparents. Many valuable life lessons were learned in those years, everything from winemaking to the most valuable lesson of all - dedication and commitment to a job done well. He started throwing the Kansan newspaper at the age of 14 and continued working full-time from everything as a soda jerk at the Velvet Freeze in downtown Kansas City, Kan., to shoveling coal on steam-driven locomotives, earning money to attend college. Graduating from Wyandotte High School in 1946, Lawrence immediately entered the United States Navy. Serving for one and a half years, he was honorably discharged in 1947 after contracting rheumatic fever. Returning to Kansas City, he attended the University of Kansas City, earning degrees in chemistry and biology. Upon graduation, Lawrence accepted a position with Westinghouse Corp. In 1953, Lawrence began what would become the embodiment of his lifelong dream when he was accepted into the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Graduating in 1957, he was offered a position at a small clinic in Gashland (now Gladstone), Mo., joining Donald Kuenzi M.D. and Weldon Sportsman M.D. Acceptance of this position would not only begin a lifelong friendship, but would greatly enhance the medical arena of the Northland. Gashland Clinic, now in its 56th year, is a multi-physician practice, the cornerstone of the North Oak Medical Park. Retiring from private practice in 1998, Dr. Hayes participated in medical missions to Honduras and Mexico, before feeling the pull to continue with this love of medicine and desire to serve others that would eventually encompass a span of 53 years. Working in a not for profit clinic in Riverside, Mo., led to a full-time position with the Missouri Department of Corrections. Servicing Jackson County and its six surrounding counties, Dr. Hayes, respectfully known as "Doc", became a physician in the correctional system. With a final retirement from the practice of medicine in 2009, this much-beloved physician spent a lifetime in service dedicated to the lives of others. He served as a member of the Park University board of directors. Other memberships included: AOPA, AMA, Clay-Platte medical societies and the KU medical alumni. Dr. Hayes was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Theresa Hayes; sister Eileen Hayes Murphy, and his first wife, Georgia Kanovas Hayes. To the union of this marriage, Lawrence and Georgia were blessed with three children, all surviving: son David Hayes M.D. and grandson Dillon Hayes of Phoenix, Ariz.; son Paul Hayes M.D. and wife Jodi of Lincoln, Neb., their children Paul Hayes, Kansas City, Mo., Britt Hayes (Katie), Dustin Hayes and Mary Hayes, Lincoln, Neb.; his beloved daughter, Gloria Soendker (Jim), Kansas City, Mo., their children Steven, Austin and Breanna Soendker, all of Kansas City, Mo.; and three great-grandchildren. On March 31, 1977, Lawrence married Risa Hughes Levine, and began what he would say was the happiest 33 years of his life. As a favorite aunt would say, "theirs was an uncommon love". Truer words have never been spoken. Together they embarked on a life of commitment to each other, the truest example of unconditional love seldom known. His soulmate and forever love, Risa, survives of the home. To the union of Lawrence and Risa was the blessing of their son Jeffrey Hayes and his wife Krysta, soon to deliver their first child, Lacy Anne of Platte Co., Mo. Dr. Hayes could never understand how it was that he was paid to do something he loved so much. From the countless infants he brought into this world, the hundreds of anxious parents he calmed, the endless questions of older patients whose minds couldn't quite comprehend the changes of their aging bodies, any and all would say he was a friend they lovingly trusted with their lives. From the family that he leaves behind, wife, children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and in-laws. We will all say this world has suffered a loss of the greatest proportions. "We loved you then, and we love you now. Forever and ever." Condolences may be sent at mountmoriahterracepark.com M