Martha Phelan Hayes

On October 3, 2023, Martha Phelan Hayes passed from this world. She was 69. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she was the daughter of Joseph and Geraldine Phelan, both of the metropolitan Boston area. The family moved to Milford, Connecticut in 1960 where she attended Milford public schools, graduating in 1972. In 1975 she married Thomas Hayes, also of Milford, with whom she had three children.

In 1982 while still pregnant with her third child, she would begin her academic studies at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, Connecticut and would eventually continue on to receive both Bachelors and Masters degrees in English literature from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. Proving exceptional in her field, she would personally present papers at various academic conferences, something she would continue to do throughout her professional career.

For 27 years she was a professor at Gateway Community College in New Haven, Connecticut where she taught both English Composition and Creative Writing. She retired in 2019. She was also a widely published poet and essayist, her writings appearing in a variety of literary magazines and journals. In addition, she was a trained yoga instructor, yoga being one of her greatest passions.

Martha loved to travel, having visited over forty countries on four different continents, only missing Australia and Antarctica. But what Martha loved most in the world was to dance. The granddaughter of a vaudeville tap dancer, at weddings and parties Martha would spend hours on the ballroom floor. Her energy was unlimited and her enthusiasm endless.

She is survived by her husband and life partner of eighteen years, David M. Gawarecki, with whom she resided in New Haven. She is additionally survived by her three children, Michael (Kara) Hayes, Peter (Kristen) Hayes, and Laura (Zachary) Martinez as well as eight grandchildren, Ryan, Nora, Meredith, Ella, and Maisie Hayes and Gavin, Nolan, and Isla Martinez. She was the oldest of eight children and is survived by her brothers Joseph, Daniel (Theresa), Timothy (Cindy), and Matthew (Stacey) Phelan as well as a sister Sally (Michael) Algiere. She was predeceased by her parents and two sisters, Mary (John) Raccuia and Julie (Kenneth) Hayes, and her beloved niece Sally Jane Waite.

Services at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that, keeping with Martha’s own belief in the unity and common destiny of humankind, that acts of kindness to others, whether monetary or personal, be performed in her memory.

Martha is being compassionately cared for by Cody-White Funeral Home, to light a candle or leave a condolence please visit www.CodyWhiteFuneralService.com