Madge Haye

The sum and substance of Madge the Matriarch cannot be exhaustively chronicled in books or on the few pages of an obituary but must live in the hearts of those she has touched. It was in the Spring of 1938, April 23rd,  that Madge Haye, nee Harris, Miss Madge, Mama,  Aunt Madge, and Grandma Madge checked into the world as the third child of Frank Harris and Muriel Galloway-Harris. Madge checked in to Industry Cove, Hanover's seafront community, and spent her formative years in this fishing village. The Harris Home was exciting for Madge and her siblings: Eunice, Birdie, Lena, Daisy, Faye, Kitty, Blossom, Lloyd (Balsy), Joslyn, and Cicilyn. Madge received her early educational training at the Green Island Primary School, where she excelled academically. Unfortunately, due to limited resources, Madge accomplished her Senior Cambridge Exam but did not matriculate to higher learning. Madge was, however, a lifelong learner, very business-like, and assisted her sister Faye in her entrepreneurial endeavors. Life in her small village town of Industry Cove was filled with excitement, and Madge would soon, in her travels, meet someone who would change her life forever.

Someone once said, "Love finds you in the strangest places, and hope clings to us in the nooks and crannies we never think to look." This statement would prove true for Madge, the matriarch who met the love of her life, Leslie Washington Haye, on a beautiful, breezy afternoon at the Wesleyan Holiness Church, Bastard Cedar Walk, Westmoreland, Jamaica, in the year 1953. Leslie, an accomplished welder, and mechanic who worked for the Bauxite company, swept her off her feet. It was love at first sight, and the journey ahead looked prosperous and bright. The love boat of Madge and Leslie set sailed in  June of 1960 and quickly picked up passionate momentum by producing twelve beautiful children (Leslie Washington Haye, Jr. (Tony, deceased), Leroy Alexander Haye (Bobby), Patrick George Haye (Officer), Michael St. Valentine Haye (Mikey), Vivia Ophelia Haye (Sista), Lawrence Oliver Haye (Larry), Peter Orlando Haye (Deceased), Paul Newton Haye (Yellow), Everton Emerson Haye (Bunny), Eraldo O'Sullivan Haye (Buju, deceased), Christine Celiah Haye (Gingerbread) and Desmond Charlton Haye (Charlie). The couple would start their life together in Bastard Cedar Walk in Westmoreland, Jamaica, and would later relocate to the current family plot in Shrewsbury, Petersfield. The Haye family would become members of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses for several years. Madge and her family later converted to Seventh Day Adventist faith up to the time of her passing. On November 2, 1979, after a brief bout of illness, the lover of her life, Leslie Washington Haye, predeceased her. However, this did not stop her determination, neither did she shirk her responsibilities towards her children but with grace and courage, she cared for each of her children even during times of distress.

During the twilight of Madge's life, the words of the wise man Solomon in Proverbs 12:5 proved true as the almond tree flourished, desire failed because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourner goes about the streets. During the week of February 5th, Madge's condition worsened, resulting in the inability to eat or drink. On  February 22, 2023, Madge took her last breath at home in Georgia, USA.

She leaves to mourn seven sons and two daughters, twenty grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren, three great-great-grandchildren, two sisters, nieces, nephews, and a host of family and friends. Yet, as a family, we stand united in hope with the words of the famous hymn writer who declared: "Someday the silver cord will break, and I no more as now shall sing; but O the joy when I shall wake within the presence of the  King! And I  shall see  Him face to face, and tell the story, saved by grace; and I shall see Him face to face and tell the story saved by grace. So sleep on mama until morning.

A Funeral Service for Madge will be held Sunday, April 16, 2023, 11:00 A.M., at Petersfield Seventh-day Adventist Church, in Hertford, Jamaica, with interment following in the family plot at Shrewsbury District Westmoreland, Jamaica, West Indies.