 West Hill Cemetery Sherman, Texas  Barbara "Bobbie" Brown Hays, 79, of Sherman, died November 30, 2018 at her home in Sherman after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Bobbie was born March 16, 1939 in Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania, daughter of James Willis Runk and Mary Kathleen Hancock Runk. She attended school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, before attending Bucknell University, graduating in 1961 with a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and English. She earned a Masters of Arts degree in English literature at the University of Wisconsin Madison and completed her doctoral coursework in English literature at the University of Michigan. After briefly teaching English at the University of Cincinnati, she made a fateful visit Texas with a college friend over the spring break in 1968 and met David Hunter Brown, a Grayson County State District Judge, and his young daughter, Susan. By January of 1969, they were a family. Two sons, Joseph David Brown and James Samuel Brown soon followed. For several years she raised her children, remaining active in her church, developing her hobby of painting, and occasionally writing for children's magazines, including the article "So You Want To Be A Cowboy" and "Meet The Armadillo" published in Highlights for Children. Bobbie also served as a Camp Fire leader and, as a proud supporter of all things artistic, she was a long time board member and patron of the Friends of the Sherman Public Library and the Sherman Community Series, and a patron of scholarships at Grayson County College. In 1988 she returned to the classroom, teaching English Composition, English literature, and Humanities at Grayson County College for 20 years before retiring in 2007. She twice served as Chair of the Fine Arts department of the college. Following the death of her husband, David, in 1991, she married Don B. Hays in 2000. Her children are forever grateful to Don for his love and support of their mother, and for his sweet care of her during her illness. A long-time member of the Church of Christ, she began worshipping at Covenant Presbyterian with Don after their marriage and she had dear friends there that she loved very much. She loved spending time with her grandchildren, especially helping in their classrooms, painting traveling, reading, needlework, watching the Texas Rangers, and exercising. She tolerated politics. She had a special relationship with both of her daughters-in-law, whom she thought of as her own. Preceded in death by her first husband, David Brown, she is survived by her husband, Don Hays, of Sherman; daughter, Susan Brown of Sherman; son, Joe Brown and wife, Megan, of Sherman; son, Jim Brown and wife, Raegan, of Boise, Idaho; and 4 grandchildren, Olivia Brown, Molly Brown, Caroine Brown and Owen Brown. She treasured Don's family, Sharla Myers and husband, David, and their children, Hays and Jason; and Blake Hays and wife, Aileen, and their children, Tri and Joshua. She is also survived by her sister, Kay Bonney of Sarasota, Florida; and her brother, Jim Runk and wife, Linda, of Bethany Beach, Delaware; and many nieces and nephews, including her good friend, Marilyn Kretsinger, who was that college friend that brought her to Texas so many years ago. Memorials may be made to Grayson College in the name of the Don and Bobbie Hays Endowed Scholarship. A memorial service was held Friday morning, December 7, 2018 at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Sherman, followed by a family commitment at West Hill Cemetery. - - - Waldo Funeral Home West Hill Cemetery Elaine Nall Bay ©2018 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |