Ellen Hayden

Ellen Hayden, 99, of Owensboro, went to be with the Lord while surrounded by her loving family on April 14, 2026. She was born in McLean County on November 17, 1926, to the late Leverett and Roxanna Williams Jones.

Ellen loved her family, her faith, and the life she built through hard work. She was the kind of person everyone liked, and when asked, could tell you about the many changes the world has experienced during her lifetime. With Ellen, what you saw was exactly what you got.

She graduated from Calhoun High School, where she met her husband, Hugh Hayden. She and her twin sister, Helen, worked full-time at the old GE Plant on 9th Street in Owensboro, retiring after 25 years. Every day after work, she went home to Utica to work alongside her husband and boys on their family farm.

Ellen and Hugh raised three boys together and built a home centered on family. She loved to cook and made a full meal for her family every night. She especially enjoyed spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

She was a member of First Christian Church and read her Bible regularly, raising her children with the same values she lived by. In her later years, as her eyesight declined, she was blessed with the friendship of Barbara Best, Naomi O'Hearn, and Kaye Farmer, who spent time reading the Bible and newspaper to her.

Mrs. Hayden was a member of the Daviess County Homemakers Association. She was also talented in quilting, sewing, and cross-stitching. She enjoyed gardening and canning and took pride in caring for her home and family.

She lived life as an optimist and always appreciated what the Lord had blessed her with.

Ellen will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, and as a woman who lived her life with faith and kindness.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sisters, Helen Combs and Evelyn Humphrey; her brother, Wyman Jones; and infant brother, Forrest Jones.

Those left to cherish her memory include her sons, Carroll Hayden and his wife, Larkin, Bruce Hayden, and Keavin Hayden and his wife, Lisa, all of Owensboro; her grandchildren, Blake Hayden (Missie), Aimee Perez (Cesar), Sarah Carter (Wes), Mary Ellen Neely (Nathan), Bryce Hayden, and Micah Hayden, all of Owensboro, Brooke Petrofsky (Mike) of Louisville, Lydia Penney (Stephen) of Nashville; and Emily Ruth Hayden of Bowling Green, along with 15 great-grandchildren.

The family would like to express their gratitude to One Park Place and Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Kentucky for the compassionate care shown to Ellen.

The funeral service for Ellen Hayden will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, April 20, 2026, at First Christian Church. Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday at Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory and from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. on Monday at the church. Burial will be in Calhoun Cemetery.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to Hager Preschool in care of The Foundation For Excellence, Owensboro independent Schools. 450 Griffith Avenue, Owensboro KY, 42301.

Memories and condolences for the family may be left at www.glenncares.com