HAYS, MARION STEELE (2 STONES) - Faulkner County, Arkansas | MARION STEELE (2 STONES) HAYS - Arkansas Gravestone Photos

Marion Steele (2 Stones) HAYS

St Peter's Episcopal Church Columbarium Cemetery
Faulkner County,
Arkansas

Mar 25, 1925 - June 22, 2011

*Obituary

Retired Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Steele Hays of Conway, 86, died Wednesday. Hays served 14 years on the court, from 1981 to 1995. He also served on the state Court of Appeals as one of the original members appointed by Governor Bill Clinton when the court was first created. In addition, he served as a Pulaski County circuit court judge in 1969-70, appointed by Governor Winthrop Rockefeller.
Before joining the bench, Hays had a distinguished career as a lawyer in Little Rock with Spitzberg, Mitchell & Hays, and served as secretary-treasurer of the Arkansas Bar Association.
He also served as chancellor for the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas, and as president of the National Conference of Christians & Jews (Arkansas Chapter), Arkansas Lung Association, Youth Home, Inc., Arkansas Rice Depot, Conway and Downtown Little Rock Kiwanis Clubs, as chairman of the Arkansas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and on numerous other charitable boards.
Hays was an articulate opponent of the death penalty although he put aside his views and upheld many death penalty cases as a member of the court.
After retiring, Hays pursued his long-standing interest in Abraham Lincoln, researched and wrote many essays on Lincoln and presented these to scores of groups around the state.
Born in Little Rock, he was the son of the late U.S. Representative Brooks Hays and Marion Prather Hays.
Hays was a graduate of the University of Arkansas and George Washington University School of Law, and was honored as a "Significant Sig" by his Sigma Chi fraternity. He was a member of St. Peter's Episcopal Church.
He is survived by his wife, Peggy Wall Hays; three children and their spouses, Steele Hays (Melody) of Roswell, GA; Melissa Licon (Val) of Reno, NV, and Sarah Facciobene (Carmen) of Potomac, MD; three stepchildren and families, Leonard Thompson (Wendy) of Little Rock, Harry Thompson of Cherry Log, GA, and Miriam Lyde Thompson (Terry Goddard) of San Antonio, TX; and nine grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Betty Brooks Bell of Sterling, VA.
His favorite poet was Robert Burns, who wrote:
When death's dark stream I ferry o'er, A time that surely shall come;
In Heaven itself, I'll ask no more, Than just a Highland welcome.

A memorial service will be held 10:30 a.m., Saturday, June 25, 2011 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church.
Arrangements are under the direction of Roller-McNutt Funeral Home (501) 327-7727. Online guestbook www.rollerfuneralhomes.com

Contributed on 2/5/23 by hawkinsdonna48
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Record #: 1470061

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Additional HAYS Surnames in ST PETER'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH COLUMBARIUM Cemetery

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Submitted: 2/5/23 • Approved: 2/5/23 • Last Updated: 2/8/23 • R1470061-G0-S3

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