Judith Hayes

Judith Elizabeth Hayes

12/5/1947 - 11/28/2023

Mrs. Judith Elizabeth (Nilsson) Hayes, 75, passed away on Tuesday November 28, 2023, at the Canton-Potsdam hospital with her family by her side.

Arrangements are entrusted to Hammill Funeral Home in Winthrop and following Judith's wishes there will be no public services at this time. Her family will honor her life privately at their convenience.

Judith led a very busy and active life throughout her lifetime enjoying water skiing, surfing, fishing, camping, and panning for gold. She loved her "Mini Farm" in California raising animals to feed her family. She even got to laugh about it at times like when she and her children were out in the garden harvesting some vegetables to can while the horse opened the back door and let the cow, sheep, goat, chickens, ducks, and turkeys in the house. Of course, we all laughed really hard after we were able to get the cow off her daughter Catherine's waterbed safely!

She loved cooking and thanks be to her for our family recipes, if it were not for her, we would not have them because her grandmother did not have them written anywhere, they were only in her head. Now our family has them to pass down.

Judith has also passed down her love of crafting. She loved to embroidery, cross stitch, knit, crochet, sew clothes as well as quilting and painting. She loved to paint and was good at it. We love that she has passed these talents down to various members of the family.

She also did a cross stitch art of the Lomita Railroad before it was built using just the newspaper article written about it. We still have it and she has always been proud of it.

Judith had a song she had sung most of her life and up until the end her daughters would sing it with her "We are the girls from Lomita, we really don't give a dam. We're here to tear the town up and get into a jam! To hell with the City Commissioner, to hell with the Mayor too and if you don't come from Lomita to hella with you too!"

Judith loved working for Nylok Fasteners in California, where she rode her bicycle to work and was called the peanut butter and jelly kid because that is what she brought for lunch. She later worked for Nylok Fasteners in Texas.

She was proud of her employment at DFW airport in Texas and worked there until they had relocated to Northern NY where they resided until the end.

Judith is preceded in death by her husband of 58 years Walter James Hayes and her parents William Oscar Nilsson and Catherine "Kay" Nilsson Hackett.

She is survived by her children, Catherine Hayes, Charity Hayes, and Michael Hayes; grandchildren, Jeremiah and Kiley Hayes, Micah Hayes, Heather Hayes, and Kyler Hayes; greatgrandchildren, Tyler Jordan, Kinsey Hayes, Kaydence Hayes, Micah Hayes Jr., Bryson Hayes, and Jaxxon Canon; brother William Nilsson; and sister Joyce (Dan) Nilsson-Nelson.

Survivors also include brothers-in-law, sisters- in- law, and numerous nieces and nephews.

She is still friends with the same childhood friends and has loved those friends to this day Tim Bard, Bob Boucier and Jackie Gaudette.

Memories and condolences can be shared with her family at www.hammillfh.com.