Jean Carol Hayes

A graveside service for Mrs. Jean Carol Hayes will be held Friday, August 18th, 2023, 12:00 p.m. at The Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Newton, MS with David Raddin officiating.

A memorial service will be held Saturday August 19^th at 3:00 p.m. at The Waterford Independent Living Facility located at 619 Highland Colony Parkway Ridgeland, MS 39157 also with David Raddin officiating.  Webb & Stephens Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with arrangements.

Mrs. Hayes,78, passed away Sunday August 13, 2023, at The Waterford surrounded by family and friends.  Jean was born August 26, 1944, in Kosciusko, MS. She graduated from Meridian High School in 1962 and joined the Air Force shortly thereafter. Jean completed Airman Basic training in Montgomery Alabama and was then stationed at Andrews AFB in Maryland as part of the Special Medical Services unit. She met and married Kenneth Frank Hayes while at Andrews AFB. She separated from the service in 1966 but continued the Air Force lifestyle supporting her husband and raising two children, with stops at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma, Travis AFB in California and Eglin AFB in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.  Once her husband Ken retired after 22 years of service, they returned home to her home state of Mississippi and moved to Greenwood. While in Greenwood Jean held various administrative positions with the Greenwood Orthopedic Clinic, and the State with The Rehabilitation Services for the blind. After 20 years in Greenwood, they retired and moved back to Meridian to be close to family and friends.

Jean also enjoyed all sports and supported and encouraged her children and grandchildren to play various sports throughout their childhood. She herself was an avid bowler for many years and had a love for little league baseball.  

She is survived by her husband of 58 years, Kenneth Frank Hayes; daughter, Lorrie Jean Johnson (Mike); son, Corey Lance Hayes (Debbie); grandchildren, John K. Wiebe, Jacob R. Wiebe (Shelby), Chloe J. Sellers, Sunny L. Sellers, Justin P. Hayes, and Julia L. Hayes; great grandchildren, Cole T. Connell, Kori K. Wiebe, and Kyndle B. Wiebe; sister, Patricia Ann Billiot; brothers, Curtis Grover Chappell and Jackie Wayne Chappell; and her beloved dog, Sofie.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Buford Louis Chappell Sr. and Beulah Beatrice Rawson Chappell; sisters, Mildred Laudine Rigdon, Norma Lee Lloyd, and Lorene Burgess; brothers, Buford Louis Chappell Jr., Jesse Ray Chappell, Charles Lamar Chappell, Bartley Thomas Chappell, and Douglas Franklin Chappell.