Persevering through polio: Scituate attorney remembered for his generous spirit
Michael C. Hayes didn’t live defined by his decades-long illness. Instead, he built a life undeterred by it, dedicating his time in service to others.
He was a father of four who endlessly supported his children’s aspirations. He was a lawyer for 45 years who preferred doing favors over making a dollar. He offered a kind smile and made others feel welcome, his sons said.
Hayes, of Scituate, died of cardiac arrest on Aug. 21, two days before his birthday. He was 72.
He was born in 1950 to Miriam and Robert Hayes, the youngest of their eight children. He had two older brothers and five older sisters, including his twin, Patricia.
His life changed in the summer of 1955, when a massive polio outbreak infected more than 2,000 people in Massachusetts. Hayes was among them. Just months earlier, researchers had lauded the success of a new vaccine and the distribution had just begun.
Polio is a virus that affects the nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem and can lead to muscle weakness, paralysis or death. Because of the infection, Hayes lost the use of his legs. He would go on to use braces and crutches throughout his life.
Persevering through effects of polio
Hayes' two sons, Patrick and Fred, said their father being differently abled wasn't ever something they thought about while growing up.
“With the physical pain I’m sure he was in, it seemed like it never occurred to him that it was going to slow him down,” said Patrick, his older son.
Fred said that after his father was treated in an iron lung, a superintendent didn't want to allow Hayes back at school because his adjustment to walking with braces and crutches would make the bus late. To prove the school superintendent wrong, Hayes would time himself going up and down the stairs.
When he was ultimately allowed to attend, Hayes would get a head start after class to climb the stairs at school, taking the steps one by one, a former classmate recalled. He made it work without special accommodations.
It was situations like these that helped his father develop into a go-getter who looked out for others, Fred said.
“He never had it easy. Things were outside of his control. I think he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of life, the way life can be harsh and people can be harsh,” said Fred, 35. “I think that was important to him, to make sure it was in his control, to make sure it was easier and better for people than the way he had it.”
During his time at Thayer Academy, where he graduated in 1968, Hayes loved sports and wanted to participate in ways he could. He was the statistician for the football team and helped tape players’ ankles. Throughout his life, Hayes also enjoyed swimming at the Scituate Harbor Yacht Club and hitting golf balls at the driving range that used to be near Hingham Lumber.
He didn't have an affinity for only sports, but also the arts. There was a piano in the family home that Hayes’ children used for lessons (which Fred described as “kind of a chore”). In the early 2000s, Hayes decided to take it up, with his close friend Vickie Janelle teaching him.
Sometimes, when Fred was trying to sleep, he remembered hearing his dad practicing “El Jarabe Tapatio,” also known as the Mexican Hat Dance, or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” He would perform recitals at Vickie’s home or at First Trinitarian Congregational Church, where he was a member and moderator.
"The greatest attorney I know"
Hayes graduated from Boston College in 1972 and Suffolk University Law School in 1975, becoming a third-generation lawyer and joining his cousin and brother in the profession.
Hayes was a Plymouth County assistant district attorney and worked with clients on a variety of legal issues, including power of attorney and real estate. He often offered free services for first-time homebuyers to help welcome them to Scituate.
“He might not have been the best businessman, but I think he’s the greatest attorney I know," said Fred, who also became a lawyer.
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Fred remembered more than one time that his father received a call late at night from one of his end-stage clients who didn't have any family members to spend their final moments with.
His son Patrick, 40, said his father was "a very kind person. He had a really firm sense of what was right and wrong. He did everything he could to do the right thing.”
For 25 years, his law office was right above Maria’s Submarine Sandwich Shop.
“His second-floor office in the Harbor had the longest flight of stairs anywhere and he navigated them on his forearm crutches every day, sometimes several times a day,” recalled James Hunt, a friend, on Hayes’ memorial page. “At the time, I had an elevator company and I offered to work with the landlord to install one. Each time, Mike would wave me off, saying, ‘No, it keeps me in shape!’”
Fighting for Scituate kids
Hayes spent decades on the Scituate School Committee. During a run for the seat in 1988, he told The Patriot Ledger, “It’s a civic duty, really. I have no political ambition, no axes to grind. I think I owe it to the town to do whatever I can to see we have the best schools possible.”
“He wanted to do right for the kids,” Patrick said. “He was definitely out there fighting for the things he thought were important.”
Patrick remembered his father always attending his kids' games and coaching baseball and basketball. It inspires him as he parents his two daughters.
“He was just the best dad,” Fred said. “My best friend.”
He is survived by Patrick, Fred and his daughter Lucy Nesbet, and was the father of the late Heidi Hayes. He is also survived by six of his siblings, five granddaughters and his former wife.
A celebration of life was held Aug. 30 at First Trinitarian Congregational Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Michael's honor to Scituate Etrusco Associates, a volunteer organization that maintains medical and rehabilitation equipment, at 1 Common St., Scituate, MA 02066; to Scituate Friends of Music, which supports music programs in Scituate public schools, at PO Box 800, Scituate, MA 02066; or any other charity that helps Scituate causes.
Hannah Morse covers growth and development for The Patriot Ledger. Contact her at hmorse@patriotledger.com.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Scituate attorney, ex-school committee member Michael Hayes dies at 72
