Philip Hayes

Philip Paul Hayes, 72" MANCHESTER AND MOUNT VERNON - Philip Paul Hayes, of Manchester and Mount Vernon, died on Thursday afternoon of complications from dementia.  He was 72.
Born in Portland in 1942 to the late Yvette Charette and the late Philip Edward Hayes, he grew up on Dresden Avenue in Gardiner.  His mother was a homemaker and seamstress, and his father worked for the Veteran's Administration at Togus.  A busy and outgoing child, Phil served as a Boy Scout and often dressed up as a clown for special events.
At Gardiner High, Phil was active in football, basketball, and student government.  During his high school years, he happily worked summers at Camp Belgrade along the shores of Great Pond.  In 1966, he graduated from St. Anselm's College in Manchester, New Hampshire, and he later attained an M.Ed. in Secondary Education from the University of Maine at Orono.
In 1968, Phil married Bonnie Weston, of Farmingdale, a high school classmate.  Although they were not sweethearts in high school, they reconnected after college, married in Gardiner, and moved to Farmington.  Phil taught Social Studies at Mt. Blue Junior High School and Mr. Blue Middle School for over 30 years, serving as a teacher and coach, then later as an administrator and athletic director.  During his years as a teacher, he mentored many UMF students in their practicum experiences and student teaching.  After retiring from full-time teaching, he served for five years as an education instructor at UMF. 
Described by his wife Bonnie as "a gifted and accomplished teacher who was respected and admired by his peers and students," Phil received a grant from the Ford Foundation in 1972 to study open education in Berkeley, California; the Hawaiian Islands; Grand Forks, North Dakota; and London, United Kingdom.  The civics course he taught, SUNSHINE USA, is long remembered for illuminating life-lessons along with the basics of municipal, county, and state government.  He was nominated by his peers in the SAD 9 district as "Maine Teacher of the Year," and, later, was named a runner-up for "Faculty of the Year" by his UMF students.
Since 1978, Phil spent the better part of his summers at the family camp on Flying Pond in Mount Vernon.  Over the years, he found an outlet for his creativity in refinishing old furniture and in his many projects -- fashioning items both practical and artistic.  When he finally retired from teaching in 2001, Phil divided his time between summers at the pond and winters down the road in Manchester, and he expanded his restoration skills by refurbishing old camps around Central Maine.  He was fond of reading American history and always enjoyed a good basketball game. During these slower but no less busy years, he and his wife Bonnie also made many trips to visit their children and grandchildren in Washington State and Florida.  Always an educator, in recent years he established the Free Library at the Manchester Campus YMCA.
Philip Paul Hayes is survived by his wife of 46 years, Bonnie Weston Hayes of Manchester; his sisters Anita Morrissey of Sidney and Connie Hayes of Rockland, his sons Mark Edward Hayes of Miami, Fla. and Jonathan Arthur Hayes of Mount Vernon; and four grandchildren, Emily Mae Hayes and Samuel Mack Hayes of Mount Vernon and Coltrane Ingram Hayes and Evan Foster Hayes of Miami.
The family extends its sincere thanks to the Alzheimer's Care Center in Gardiner, MGRLTC at Glenridge in Augusta, and MaineGeneral Hospice.
A celebration of life will be held for family and friends in the summer of 2015 in Mount Vernon. Arrangements are under the care of Staples Funeral Home in Gardiner
Donations in memorial can be made to the Hayes Family Scholarship at the University of Maine at Farmington.  Contributions may be sent to the Director of Development – UMF Alumni Foundation, Ferro Alumni Center, 242 Main Street, Farmington, ME 04938