Lawanna G. Hay

Funeral services for Lawanna Godfrey Hay will be at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 27, 2016 at First United Methodist Church. Interment will be in Laurel Hill Cemetery and Rev. Jim Smith, Rev. Burns Willis, Rev. Bob Dixon and Rev. Charles Houston will officiate. Mrs. Hay was born in Ft. Pierce, Florida on June 21, 1924 and passed peacefully from this life at her residence on May 23, 2016. Mrs. Hay was the daughter of R.B. Godfrey and Rosa Lee Godfrey of Ft. Pierce. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Marvin Fielding Godfrey.
She graduated from St. Lucie County High School in Florida. Following high school she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Health from Georgia State College for Women and a Master of Science Degree in Biology from Georgia College in Milledgeville. She enjoyed teaching and taught a number of junior and senior high school science courses during her almost three decades of service to the students of Thomasville City Schools. During her tenure as high school Biology teacher she served as Chairman of the Science Department and was honored in 1981 as the Star Teacher for the school system and was the Thomas County System Area Winner.
Mrs. Hay met her husband James G. (Jim) Hay (deceased) in the Methodist Church in Ft. Pierce when he was stationed at Ft. Pierce during World War II and married him in the same church when the war was over.
Although Mrs. Hay majored in science education, as a college senior she was recruited by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) out of Chattanooga, Tennessee to be trained and work as a Cartographic Engineering Aid. The TVA was making maps for the federal government so she accepted the job as she believed that her service might help the war effort. Mrs. Hay remained in the position until World War II ended and Jim returned home from service.
After marriage, the couple settled in St. Petersburg, Florida until 1956 when the family relocated to Thomasville. While Mrs. Hay began her teaching career in Thomasville, Mr. Hay established Hay Plumbing Company.
Mrs. Hay was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Thomasville and a longtime member of the Sue MacTier Sunday School Class.
She is survived by four children: Jean Ingram (Bill) of Tallahassee, Florida; James Hay, Jr. (Cheryl); Joanne Marcinski (Ron); and Joe Hay (Lisa), all of Thomasville. She was blessed with ten grandchildren: Will Ingram and Maggie Mickler (Will) of Tallahassee, Florida; Matthew Ingram of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Beau Hay of Thomasville; Jennifer Hay of Marietta, Georgia; Ron Marcinski (Beth) of Clearwater, Florida; Richie and Renee Marcinski of Thomasville; Joe Hay, Jr. (Brianna) of Athens, Georgia; and, Becky (Colin) Hoggard of Charlotte, North Carolina. Additionally, four great grandchildren including: Annalee, Reece, and Carly Hay of Athens, Georgia; and Joseph Henry Hoggard of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, May 26, 2016 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home.
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