Floyd G. Hayes, 83, a retired railroad engineer who enjoyed family, gardening and golf, died on Saturday, April 21, at Memorial Hospital in Ormand Beach, Fla. He lived in Ridgefield most of his life, but had moved to Ormand Beach in 1995, following the death of his wife of 55 years, Florence Knapp Hayes.
"He was a great father, a terrific family man," said Helen Wright of Southbury, one of his daughters."They lived for 55 years in Ridgefield, on Florida Hill Road."
"He loved it," she said of his more than 30-year career with the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. "His father was an engineer, and his brother was a conductor. Railroading was in his blood."
He drove both freight and passenger trains, she said. His work sometimes included taking a train up the old line that used to run from Branchville to the Ridgefield station in the village near Ridgefield Supply. Ms. Wright could recall, when she was first married, taking her young children out to wave at their grandpa as he drove by in the train.
"We used to be the caretakers on the old Gilbert and Bennett Estate, which is now the site of Branchville School," she said. "We could walk right through the back yard to where the pond is by Branchville Shell, and we could wave as he did the freight run."
Mr. Hayes was born in Stamford on June 26, 1917, a son of the late Daniel J. and Eve Ranson Hayes. He grew up there, and went to Stamford schools. He was a member of the Loyal Order of Moose, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
He was an avid sports fan, especially enjoying golf, which he played into his 80's. "He loved playing golf," Ms. Wright said. He also enjoyed garden work, and yard care, both in Ridgefield and at his retirement home in Florida. "He had a lovely little house on the Intercoastal," Ms. Wright said. "The last six years of his life he just watched the boats sail up and down the Intercoastal, and he loved the sunsets, and he loved the year-round gardening. He has seven-foot tomato plants growing down there right now."
Besides Ms. Wright, survivors include a son, Daniel J. Hayes of North Hampton, Mass., another daughter, Lorraine Hertzog of Fishkill, N.Y.; one brother, Joseph Hayes of Bethel; one sister, Marjorie Connelly of Norwalk; 11 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. Besides his wife, a daughter, Patti Hayes, a sister, Dorothy Talbot, and a granddaughter, Holly Ann Hayes, died before him.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated today, April 26, at 10 a.m. in Sacred Heart Church, Georgetown. The Rev. M. Joseph Joaquin, pastor, will officiate. Burial will follow in Branchville Cemetery, Ridgefield.
Contributions in memory of Mr. Hayes may be made to a charity of one's choice.