Olivet Gardens of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Colma, San Mateo County, California
Show Folks of America section J, lot 2A.
Find A Grave
Colma, California, is known as San Francisco's City of the Dead, or the City of Souls. Olivet Memorial Park is just one of 17 cemeteries located in Colma, located south of San Francisco. In the back section of the Olivet Cemetery you will find a Show Folks memorial, dedicated to clowns, circus and carnival performers. Imagine my surprise several years ago when I looked on Find A Grave and saw that my great grandfather Lester Franklin Hayes was buried here in 1969! This was quite a mystery, as no living family members knew why he chose this spot as his final resting place. This summer I had time to go through his papers that my great Auntie Dot saved after his death. I discovered the reason for his burial in this particular cemetery; it was written on the back of a Prudential Insurance Company Request for Beneficiary Change form. It was my favorite discovery this year!
Lester Hayes and my great grandmother Emma King Hayes (Nana) divorced in 1924. Lester kept a somewhat close relationship with his daughters Dorothy, Fran and Betty but Nana never talked about him or their marriage after the divorce. He continued to live in San Francisco, and Nana lived in Grass Valley. Lester passed away on April 5, 1969 and his oldest daughter Dorothy (Auntie Dot) closed out his estate in San Francisco. After that, he was never mentioned or referred back to in the family. As a result, I never really knew my great grandfather's story until I began to research the Hayes side of the family several years ago.
When I added Lester Franklin Hayes to my family tree on Ancestry.com, the Find A Grave memorial was a complete surprise and obviously brought up quite a few questions! Was he a clown? Did he have connections to the circus? Was he a performer? Did he dabble in theater? If so, no one had heard anything about it! And Auntie Dot, sadly, was no longer here to tell me, either.
Lester F. Hayes 1882-1969
His marker looks like the others placed on "Showman's Rest" row.
It is located in the OM-Section J, Lot 2A, Niche 162.
Find a Grave
A program cover for a service held at the Olivet Memorial Park in 1968. Annual memorial services are still held every January by Show Folks of America, Inc. This was in Lester Hayes' papers and raised some interesting questions in the family!
Doing a quick search through some of Lester's papers several months ago I found a program for a memorial service that was held in the Olivet cemetery on January 6, 1968. Did he attend? Why did he hang on to this? Several weeks ago I found an envelope stuffed with all kinds of papers and cards that I hadn't looked at yet. Inside, I found a membership card for the Show Folks of America Inc. with Lester's name on it. Interesting! With the membership card was a small booklet of Constitution and By-Laws for the Show Folks of America, Inc. San Francisco Chapter No. 2. Oh my!
A membership card for the year 1969 for Lester F. Hayes. He was a regular member, not an Honorary member or Associate member per the by-laws.
A pocket-sized booklet for the Show Folks of America, Inc., San Francisco Chapter No. 2
Also inside that envelope was an insurance company form. Lester requested a change in his beneficiary on this particular policy.
front
Lester changed the beneficiary on his paid policy to the organization Show Folk of America, a non-profit organization, on April 20, 1967. Bonnie Townsend , listed as a friend, was the secretary-treasurer for the organization. On the back, under remarks, was the reason for the change...."reason for change is the daughters live a long way off and are hard to get in contact with".
back
My great grandfather died on April 5, 1969. I found several letters and typed papers in the envelope that explained the rest of this mysterious business.
The bill for Lester's burial and headstone.
Lester must have had a close relationship with Bonnie and this organization to make an arrangement like this. I found another little note and two letters that helped tell the rest of the story. Or, almost the rest of the story!
As Auntie Dot was closing out the estate and cleaning out the furniture, she found a spinning wheel which Lester was going to repair for Bonnie Townsend at some point. It was returned to Bonnie.
This letter was written to the President of Show Folks of America, Inc., Mr. Gene Cardoza, by my Auntie Dot. Apparently, Lester had a long time relationship with this organization!
My great grandfather worked as a carpenter for most of his life and may have gotten involved with this organization that way. However, the little Constitution booklet states that membership is confined to "theatrical and show people, circus, carnival, free acts, stage, radio, advertising, music, fair and park personnel, or any person identified with any and all forms of entertainment of theatrical or out-door show nature and their allied professions." In that last letter Bonnie Townsend mentioned "Santa suits"....why did Lester have Santa suits?? Was this why he was a member? And why did Bonnie Townsend want his Santa suits?
The current by-laws of the organization state that any paid up member can purchase graves in "Show Folks Rest" for his/her self, spouse, parents or children. I could not find this article in Lester's By-Laws booklet, but it must have been the same at the time of his death. It looks like he was a regular member, and not an Honorary member or an Associate member according to his membership card. How he qualified as a member remains a mystery.
From these letters it appears that Lester made friends and spent time with people in this group and was a member for sometime. He obviously was a qualified member and requested to be buried in their section of Olivet Cemetery; he made special financial arrangements to simplify things for his daughters after his death. The Show Folks of America, Inc., San Francisco, is still going strong and is a proud supporter of several causes in the community. My great grandfather's connection to this organization was a wonderful discovery, but there are parts of his story that are still untold. Hum...those Santa suits.....!
Find a Grave
I contacted the Show Folks of America, Inc. through email to see if they may have any records from that time period that may shed some light on my great grandfather's participation. I haven't heard back yet!
https://www.showfolksofamerica.com/
Relationship Reference:
Me->
Margaret Hansen Boothby->
Margaret (Betty) Hayes Hansen->
Lester Franklin Hayes = Emma King Hayes (daughters Dorothy, Frances and Margaret)
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