Welcome to the memorial page for
Lois Beebe Hayna
January 28, 1913 ~ April 10, 2017 (age 104) 104 Years OldShare using:
Lois Beebe Hayna, age 104, loved living. She was born, January 28, 1913, in Viola, Idaho, the daughter of Wate West and Sarah (Brown) Beebe. She was predeceased by her first husband, James Lewis Henderson, her second, Joseph E. Hayna, and both daughters, Judi Hallowell and Linda Henderson. She is survived by her son, Alan Henderson of Denver, Colorado; four grandchildren, Pamela Smith, Douglas Henderson, Nola Carr, Hilde Henderson; several great-grandchildren; her sister-in-law, Shirley Beebe of Denver, Colorado; and several nieces and nephews.
Lois Hayna lived at Arden, the writer's house while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Life demands pushed serious writing aside until her 60s. She lived in Colorado then and made the most of the time she had left. Hundreds of literary journals have published Lois' poetry including The South Dakota Review, Mac Guffin, and Wisconsin Quarterly Review.
U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser featured one of Lois’ poems in his syndicated newspaper column, American Life in Poetry. “I like this poem (Brief Eden) by 97-year-old Lois Beebe Hayna of Colorado for the way it captures restrained speech. The speaker spends most of her words in describing a season, but behind the changes of spring another significant change is suggested.” “Brief Eden” also appeared in the New York Times in their “Poetry Pairing Series."
Four of her nine books of poetry have garnered awards. Two books, written in 2014 and 2015, received the top prize at the Colorado Author's League. She composed these poems after moving to Montrose, MI while living with her granddaughter, Pamela and her husband, Dean. Lois wrote the collection while blind. Happily, she'd say, she knew how to touch type.
In 2009, Regis University in Denver awarded Mrs. Hayna an Honorary Doctorate of Letters. Regis University's Dayton Memorial Library archives her poetry and her papers. The university dedicated the Lois Beebe Hayna Creative Writing Center in 2010. A recipient of the Colorado Council on the Arts: Rural Artist Series Grant, Lois also received a Colorado Fellowship in the Arts. She received the inaugural Golden Quill Award from the Friends of Pikes Peak Library District and served as Poet Laureate for Colorado Springs. In 2013, The Colorado Author's League honored Lois with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lois brought energy to writing wherever she lived. She was a founding member of the Foothills Arts Center. Lois started several writing groups and taught writing. She helped launch Poetry West and edited the literary journal the Eleventh Muse. When she moved to Montrose, MI, she set another writing group in motion at the Montrose Senior Center, and it grew well beyond her expectations.
Lois wrote poetry with opera playing in the background and talked about poets James Dickey, Adrienne Rich, T. S. Eliot and W.H. Auden with the familiarity of friends. Lois wrote poetry that cuts to the core of emotions and ideas. She used simple, direct words that people understand. She will be missed by those who knew and loved her. She will be remembered by everyone who reads her poetry.
The Montrose Library has several of Lois' books.
1983 A Book of Charms, Barnwood Press, Daleville, IN
1990 Never Trust a Crow, James Anderson & Co., Golden, CO
1991 Northern Gothic, Morgan Press, Milwaukee, WI
1998 View from Behind the Mirror, Red Poppy Press, Arvada, CO
2005 Keeping Still, Higganum Hill Books, Higganum, CT
2010 Casting Two Shadows, Outskirts Press, Inc., Denver, CO
2013 The Praying Mantis, Outskirts Press Inc., Denver, CO
2014 Lagniappe, Tattered Cover Press, Denver, CO
2015 Moon Hung Midnights, Tattered Cover Press, Denver, CO
Mrs. Hayna passed away early Monday morning, April 10, 2017, in Montrose, MI. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, April 20 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Montrose Senior Center, 200 Alfred Street, Montrose.
In lieu of flowers, charitable donations in memory of Lois Beebe Hayna may be made to the Montrose Jennings Memorial Library.
Please share your online condolences or sign the guestbook at misiukfuneralhome.com.
Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Misiuk Funeral Home, 202 South Front Street, Chesaning.
Charitable donations may be made to:
Montrose Jennings Memorial Library
241 Feher Drive, Montrose MI 48457
Tel: 1-810-639-6388
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