Serving Our Seniors Magazine: January - March 2024

By Sue Daugherty Diane Hayes, 81 and Rev. Tom Hayes, 81, have been married 60 years. Diane was born and raised in Sandusky. Tom moved here in 1946 at the age of 5 from Columbus, Mississippi. When I asked how the two first met, Tom jokes, “At the time, The Temptations were very popular and Diane thought I was one of the Temptations. She couldn’t resist.” After we were done laughing, Tom explained, “It was a totally different landscape back then. Everyone knew everybody. I lived on the south side and Diane’s family lived at the Soldiers Home area. My mother was a member of the church in Diane’s neighborhood, so I knew her and her family as a child.” In high school, Diane, was two years ahead of Tom. Neither one was interested in the other. After high school, however, it was a different story. “I had a my first car. It was a 1951 Chevy Coupe. Back in those days it was unusual for an African-American man to have a car. I was a hard worker. I wanted it, so I bought it. One day, I was driving around Diane’s neighborhood and I saw her. We started talking and later, I asked her out.” The more they talked, the more they discovered all that they had in common and their affection for each other grew. Both are self-described independent personalities, who were ambitious in the settings they had to work in. Early in their relationship, Tom was a bell-hop at the Reiger Hotel and he had had the personality to earn good tips. Diane worked at the laundry mat. In May of 1963 they married. Tom described Diane as “the rock” of the family. They have four children, David, Tom Jr., Sophia and Scott. Starting out they rented a place to live. Both wanted to become homeowners, one day. It was Diane’s relationship with an older German woman, who turned that dream into a reality. This woman sold them their first home for $8,500.00. Tom said, “Diane went in and painted everything light and bright. It was so nice.” They moved in on Christmas Eve. Diane said, “We liked to earn money so we always had a back-up. We were never wasteful.” To illustrate, Tom recalled a day when he went to JC Penney. He bought his daughter a new bike. “I brought it home and Diane made me take it back.” He said as he chuckled, “She was right.” Success in marriage was partially, attributed to life being much simpler in the 1960’s. As Tom saw it, Diane was more mature than he. She was the disciplinarian with the children. Tom was the softy. They admit they did have their fair share of difficulties. “There were times when money was tight. I would borrow money from Diane’s Dad and we would pay it back. People helped people back then. You gave someone your word… and you did it.” Their fondest memories are the holidays. “We love this time of the year,” they said. Diane would decorate the house, wrap the gifts and make everything festive. Love, Mutual Respect and the 14