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