Obituaries – Their Stories Live On

Mrs. Barbara Ann Hayes, who is lovingly known to family and friends as ‘Pop’ and in her younger days as ‘Popcorn’, entered into her heavenly rest on Sunday, October 11, 2020.

Barbara was born on January 16, 1940 in Dante, Virginia to Sam and Ebbie Tanks who preceded her in death.

Barbara was raised in Castlewood, Virginia. In 1960, she moved her family to a small mining town called New Rival, West Virginia, where she met and married her husband, the late Richard R. Hayes, Jr.

She was a full-time house wife and the mother of 10 children.

Barbara, Richard and the family moved to Wyco, to Rhodell in 1966 and after the passing of her husband in 1977, she moved to Mullens and then to Pineville. She worked as a housekeeper before her illness and at times, and what she cherished the most, babysitting her grandchildren and taking care of her dog, Molly. She attended Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Mullens, where she served as an usher.

Those left to cherish her memory are her sons, Larry (Christine) Miller of Wyco, WV, Clifford (Marie) Miller of Seattle, WA, Ceasar Hayes of Pineville, Kenneth (Barbara) Hayes of Wellsburg, WV and Keith Hayes of Beckley, WV; daughters, Eugenia Brown of Beckley, WV, Pynia (Kevin) Greer of Beckley, WV and Mary Hayes of Pineville, WV; brothers, Chester Miller of Salem, OR and Joseph Tanks of King, NC; sisters, Thelma Jones of Buffalo, NY and Lorraine Robinson of Hillside, NJ; 24 Grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews and other family and friends.

Funeral service will be 12:00PM Monday, October 19, 2020 at the Ritchie & Johnson Funeral Parlor Chapel 748 S. Fayette St. Beckley. Burial will follow in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Prosperity.

Friends, while wearing gloves and masks and observing social distancing, may pay their respects to the family beginning at 11:00AM.

Email condolences to ritchie-johnson@suddenlinkmail.com.

Arrangements entrusted to Ritchie & Johnson Funeral Parlor, Beckley.