Life History

Notes

• Josephine and her husband Jackie never had any children.  She always doted on her nieces and nephews and their children.  She crocheted afghans for them and their children, and she liked to write letters to us, right to the year she died.
  
  Josie always loved to cook desserts, even in her later years, when we were all older adults who needed to watch our weight.  Helping Aunt Jo cook on certain special occasions was a highlight.
  
  1920 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma, 5 February, Lindsay Township, District 28, page 7B, Hse #129, Fam #128
  Gregory, Andy Head Rents M W  28 TN TN TN Farming
  Gregory, Retta A Wife F W 24 OK TX GA
  Gregory, Dessie L  Dau F W  4yrs10mos  OK US US
  Gregory, Alpha J  Dau F W  2 OK US US
  Gregory, Alford A  Son M W  6mos OK US US
  Gregory, John  Brother M W 30 OK US US
  
  1930 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma, 12 April, Lindsay, District 10, page 7B, Hse #92, Fam #109
  Gregory, Andy Head M W 37 TN TN AL General Farming
  Gregory, Retta  Wife  F W 34 OK TX GA General Farming Labor
  Gregory, Josephine Dau M W 12 OK TN GA
  
  When the family lived in the Pikes Peak community in the 1930s, Josie went to school in the Pikes Peak School, according to her sister Lou Ila, who was also a student there.
  --  Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins, personal phone communication to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 3 December 2014
  
  1940 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma, 8 April, Lindsay, District 25-12, page: 5B, House 50, Rented
  Gregory, Andy Head M W 47 born Tenn Rural Garvin Co in 1935 Farming
  Gregory, Reta [Retta] Wife M W 44 born Okla Rural Garvin Co in 1935
  Gregory, Josephine Dau F W SIngle 22 born Okla Rural Garvin Co in 1935
  
  U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1
  Josephine Hayes
  Birth Date 30 Dec 1917
  104 Comanche, Lindsay, OK, 73052 (1995)
  
  For the last several years of her life, Josephine had various ailments, included complications from diabetes, including amputation of a toe.  In the last few years, her sister Gladys Loretta Gregory Gay was her legal guardian and care giver.  She was moved across the street from Loretta and Joe Gay in Lindsay to ease her care.  Their sister, my mother Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins, also helped care for Josie in the last few months of her life, as she was mostly bedfast and in poor health after a fall that broke her hip and created other complications.
  
  Her sisters called her Josie; nieces and nephews called her Aunt Jo.  That was how she would sign her letters to us.
  
  Josephine died in the Lindsay, Oklahoma, Hospital.  At the time of her death, Josephine was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church in Duncan, Oklahoma.
  
  Funeral services were held at Erin Springs Baptist Church, Erin Springs (Lindsay), Oklahoma, 25 June 2005, with burial following in the Green Hill Cemetery, Lindsay.
  
  Social Security Death Index
  Alpha J. Hayes
  Born 30 Dec 1917
  Died 23 Jun 2005
  Lindsay, Garvin, Oklahoma 73052
  SSN 444-26-2606 issued Oklahoma (Before 1951)
  
  U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
  Alpha Josephine Hayes [Alpha J Hayes] [Alpha Josephine Gregory]
  White Female
  Birth 30 Dec 1917 Marlow, Stephens County, Oklahoma
  Death Date 23 Jun 2005
  Father Andy Gregory
  Mother Alpharetta M Green
  SSN 444262606
  Dec 1944 Name listed as ALPHA JOSEPHINE HAYES; 14 Jul 2005 Name listed as ALPHA J HAYES
  
  Josie's sister Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins wrote a poem honoring her.
  
  My Sister Josephine
  (Written by her sister Lou Ila Jenkins
  
  She's sleeping now beneath the sod
  She's gone to heaven to meet her God
  God gave her to us for a little while
  Together we've walked for many a mile
  We've stuck together all these years
  We've been together through laughter and tears
  We're going to miss her an awful lot
  But God knows best, we haven't forgot
  He needed a flower for his garden of love
  So he called her home to live up above
  She'll live in our hearts as long as we're alive
  And by God's grace we will survive.
  
  --------------------------------
  Alpha Josephine Gregory Hayes
  Obit, Lindsay, Garvin, Oklahoma
  
  Birth Dec 30, 1917 Marlow, Stephens County, Oklahoma, USA
  Death Jun 23, 2005 Oklahoma, USA
  Parents:
  Andy Gregory (1892 - 1975)
  Alpharetta Mae Green Gregory (1895 - 1963)
  Siblings:
  Dessie Lea Gregory Spann (1915 - 2003)*
  Alfred Andrew Gregory (1919 - 1920)
  Everett Wayne Gregory (1923 - 2009)
  Wanda June Gregory Trout (1927 - 2013)*
  
  ALPHA JOSEPHINE HAYES was born on December 30, 1917 in Marlow, Oklahoma, to Andy and Alpharetta Mae Green Gregory, and passed away at the local hospital on June 23, 2005, at the age of 87 years 5 months and 24 days.
  
  Josephine was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church in Duncan, but attended Erin Springs Baptist Church until her health prevented her from doing so.  She was also a member of the AARP and the Ladies Auxiliary of the VFW of Marlow.
  
  Josephine loved to cook, crochet (especially afghans for the entire family), piece and quilt quilts and read her Bible.
  
  She was married May 21, 1944 in Lindsay to Roy Jackson "Jackie" Hayes who preceded her in death in October of 1969.  She was also preceded in death by her parents; one sister, Dessie Lea Spann; one brother, Alfred Andrew Gregory; and one nephew, Gary Lynn Jenkins.
  
  Josephine is survived by three sisters, Wanda June Trout and her husband Roy of Carthage, Texas, Lou Ila Jenkins, and Loretta Gay and her husband Joseph D. of Lindsay; and one brother, Everett Gregory and his wife Marie of Lindsay.  She is also survived by two nieces and eight nephews, and many other family members and friends.
  
  Services for Josephine are set for Saturday, June 25, 2005 at 2 p.m. at the Erin Springs Baptist Church, with Tuffy Wigley officiating.  Interment will be at the Green Hill Cemetery, Lindsay, Oklahoma.
  
  Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the B. G. Boydston Funeral Home.  Condolences to: www.boydstonfuneralhome.com
  
  Spouse Roy Jackson Hayes (1909 - 1969)
  Sibling Wanda June Gregory Trout (1927 - 2013)
  
  Burial Green Hill Cemetery (near Lindsay), McClain County, Oklahoma, USA
  
  Created by Jean Jun 27, 2007
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #20129326, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20129326/alpha-josephine-hayes
  --  Sherry Trussell, posted on Ancestry.com, 18 Oct 2011, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/5206365/person/6039492768/story/257289e1-c3f0-4daf-b58c-12cb1194b453?src=search&ftm=1
  --  Obit also found on USGenWeb for Garvin County, Oklahoma, http://files.usgwarchives.net/ok/garvin/obits/hayesaj.txt
  ---------------------------------

Sources

• 1. U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1
• 2. Family Bibles
• 3. Social Security Death Index
• 4. 1940 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma
  • 8 April, Lindsay, District 25-12, page: 5B, House 50, Rented
• 5. Lindsay News, Lindsay, Oklahoma
• 6. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
• 7. 1920 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma
  • 5 February, Lindsay Township, District 28, page 7B, Hse #129, Fam #128
• 8. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 9. 1930 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma
  • 12 April, Lindsay, District 10, page 7B, Hse #92, Fam #109
• 10. Various Gregory Family Sources
• 11. Marriage License
• 12. Loretta Gregory Gay Genealogical Research