SLS 21RS-2236 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 103
BY SENATOR CORTEZ
CONDOLENCES. Expresses condolences on the death of Lafayette community icon,
Eleanor Madeline Lazarus Hays.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To express the sincere condolences of the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the
3 death of Eleanor Madeline Lazarus Hays.
4 WHEREAS, it is with deep regret and profound sorrow that the members of the
5 Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana have learned of the passing of Eleanor Madeline
6 Lazarus Hays on May 5, 2021, at the age of ninety-two; and
7 WHEREAS, Madeline was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on January 10, 1929,
8 to Leon Guice Lazarus and Eleanor Madeline Swayze Lazarus and was raised in St.
9 Francisville, Louisiana; and
10 WHEREAS, she was a Campfire Girl and participated in Louisiana Girls State,
11 graduated from Julius Freyhan High School as Salutatorian in 1946, and Louisiana State
12 University in 1950 with a degree in Merchandising; and
13 WHEREAS, Madeline married her sweetheart Magruder "Mac" Goldman Hays on
14 June 10, 1951, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in St. Francisville; and
15 WHEREAS, the love Madeline and Mac shared together along with their strong
16 Catholic Faith provided a foundation for generations, thus she is survived by two daughters,
17 Mary Elizabeth Hays and her husband Tim Bennett and Susan Eleanor Wallace and her
18 husband Greg; five sons, William Magruder Hays and his wife Deedy, Robert Bruin Hays
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SLS 21RS-2236 ORIGINAL
1 and his wife, Jan, Thomas Leon Hays and his wife, Karren, David Swayze Hays and his
2 wife, Jon-Ella, and John Patout Hays and his wife, Michelle; and twenty-one grandchildren,
3 Simon, Megan, Lily, Benjamin, Kathryn, Alex, Sawyer, Sarah Joy, Rosalie, Kristofer,
4 Matheau, Peter, Laura, Mary, Jack, Madeline, Theresa, Michael Magruder, Anna, Katherine
5 and Jonathan; and twenty great-grandchildren, Wesley, Julianne, Elise, Madison, Mollie,
6 Samuel, Ava, Roman, James, Henry, Mary-Ann, Magruder, Hays, John, Isaac, Ethan,
7 Marissa, Jaxson, Beau, and Grayson; and
8 WHEREAS, she was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Magruder; her
9 father, Leon Guice Lazarus; her mother, Eleanor Madeline Swayze Lazarus; and her
10 granddaughter, Eleanor Hays Bennet; and
11 WHEREAS, Madeline and Mac started their family in Lake Charles, moved to New
12 Orleans for a few years, and have been in Lafayette since 1960; and beginning in 1962, she
13 supported Mac in the opening and operations of Teche Electric Supply; and
14 WHEREAS, Madeline's passion for community service could be seen through her
15 lifetime as a dedicated volunteer for The American Red Cross beginning as a Red Cross
16 swim teacher and advancing to the level of Water Safety Instructor Trainer; also becoming
17 involved with Red Cross Disaster Services and, in that role, traveling the country, sometimes
18 weeks at a time, to provide disaster aid to those in need; and
19 WHEREAS, her Red Cross service concluded with her last assignment at the
20 Cajundome shelter after Hurricane Katrina at the age of seventy-six; and
21 WHEREAS, in recognition of her service, she was the first person in Louisiana to
22 receive the Clara Barton Award for Meritorious Volunteer Leadership, the highest honor the
23 American Red Cross bestows on their volunteers, on July 11, 1990; and
24 WHEREAS, Madeline was a proud member of The Descendants of the Jersey
25 Settlers of Adams County, Mississippi; led by her fifth great-grandfather, Reverend Samuel
26 Swayze, the Jersey Settlers left New Jersey and settled in what is now Kingston, Mississippi,
27 in 1773, and formed the first Protestant Church in the Mississippi Territory; and
28 WHEREAS, her hobbies included playing the piano and clarinet, traveling, dancing,
29 going to the camp, reading, swimming, and especially going to the beach; and
30 WHEREAS, Madeline and her husband were active members of the See Saws Square
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1 Dance Club and Krewe De Canaille for many years and she served as a Eucharistic Minister
2 at Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church; and
3 WHEREAS, the death of Eleanor Madeline Lazarus Hays has occasioned a
4 tremendous sense of loss within the Lafayette community, recalling therein her many years
5 of service and personal interactions with people who knew her to be a kind and remarkable
6 woman and a Lafayette treasure.
7 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
8 does hereby express its heartfelt sympathies at the passing of Eleanor Madeline Lazarus
9 Hays, the beloved matriarch of her family and an extraordinary community servant, does
10 hereby record for posterity her noteworthy contributions to the state of Louisiana, and does
11 hereby express enduring gratitude for a life so devoted to the public good upon her passing.
12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
13 family of Eleanor Madeline Lazarus Hays.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Jerry J. Guillot.
DIGEST
SR 103 Original 2021 Regular Session Cortez
Expresses condolences upon the death of Eleanor Madeline Lazarus Hays.
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