Alyene Anderson Hays lived for 96 years, loving nature and the outdoor life. Her grandfather Isaac Baker instilled a love of the natural outdoors during woodland walks near her birthplace, Fort Meade, Florida. Alyene was born Dec. 2nd, 1917 as a 3rd generation native Floridian. Her grandparents had settled in Tiger Bay, Fort Meade, and the Homeland areas when land in Polk County was opened up for homesteading. Her parents, Maude and Horace Bruce Anderson, were community leaders in Fort Meade. Alyene graduated from Fort Meade High School in 1935 and began her studies at Florida State College for Women in Tallahassee. Unfortunately she soon had to return home to care for her mother during her illness. In 1937 she married Edgar L. Hays. After a brief time in Clewiston they moved to Orlando and bought their home in the Eola Heights Neighborhood in order to be near his workplace with the Orlando Utilities Company and to their church, Broadway Methodist.

Throughout her life, Alyene expressed her joy in the outdoors and community service by sharing this passion with others. She started Girl Scout Troop 74 and was its leader for almost 20 years. The troop became known for its many adventures that included trips to Washington, D.C. and to the Girl Scout International Center in central Mexico. She was a volunteer Red Cross first aid instructor and a swimming instructor for many years at the Fern Creek Pool and in Scout camps where she was known by the nickname “Splash”. Alyene was active for more than 60 years in the Orlando Garden Club and worked with children in the Junior Garden Club and at the Wekiva Garden Club Nature Camp. She was a lifelong learner and took classes in botany at UCF and contributed to the State Herbarium. She was the first president of the Tarflower Native Plant Society and founded the District 7 Wildflower Club. She became an avid photographer of wildflowers and was invited to present many programs using these pictures to promote the preservation of native plant communities. She was especially proud of her association with the Blanche Covington Nature Study Course, where she was first a student and then served as director for two years. In that position, she helped develop and inspire teachers and leaders of children in the environmental field. Alyene filled her yard in Eola Heights with more than 30 native trees and numerous other native plants. A student of history, she became a member of the Daughters of the Confederacy and the Daughters of the American Revolution and continually reminded her family how they were connected to our country’s history and what their responsibilities are as good citizens.

Alyene was preceded in death by her husband, Edgar Langham Hays, her brother Hugh Anderson, and her son’s wife Carol Kruckemyer Hays.

Alyene’s surviving descendents have cherished memories of her service to others, her love of nature, and memories of travel and adventure. Her three children are Julia Hays Rowe (Gilbert), Edgar Bruce Hays and Carolyn Hays Sugg (Sandy). Her seven grandchildren are Heidi Rowe Partin (Duane), David, and Jonathan Rowe (Tricia); Jeffrey (Dory), Cary (Renee), and Timothy Hays; and Brian (Yara) Sugg. She also has nine great-grandchildren.

A memorial service for Alyene Hays will be held at 11AM on October 18, 2014 at Broadway United Methodist Church, 406 E Amelia Street, Orlando, FL 32803.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in her honor to the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home at http://www.allchildrenfirst.org/fumch/WhatYOUCanDo/MakeaDonation.aspx or to the campership fund for the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs Youth Camp in support of Alyene’s belief that the future of Florida’s beautiful lands and waters lies in the exposure of our children to nature. Donations for camperships should be sent to the Orlando Garden Club, 710 E Rollins St., Orlando, FL 32803. Most of all she would love for you to plant and enjoy a native wildflower or tree. Funeral arrangements have been made with Newcomer Funeral Home, 407-277-4227.