Nicola Hayes

“A daily thought, a silent tear, a constant wish that you were here.”

Nicola passed away peacefully in the care of Christies Manchester, surrounded by the love of her family aged 47 years on 12th November 2021.

The beloved daughter of Beryl & Alan and loved sister to Andrew. Also a cherished god mother & good friend to many, who will be fondly remembered & so sadly missed.

Nicola’s funeral took place on Friday 26th November at Crewe Crematorium Chapel at 2.45pm.

Kind donations in memory of Nicola are going to The Christie Charity.

For further information and to offer your condolences please telephone our Funeral Home on 01270 584447

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Born and bred in Crewe, Nic’s birthdate was 10th November 1974, she passed away
on 12th November 2021, forty seven years young but as Abraham Lincoln once said,
“in the end its not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.”
Nic attended Brierly Street and Coppenhall Schools and had a Saturday job at the
pizza place on Nantwich Road and owned by the same people, she also worked at
Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant as a waitress and then head of kitchen
She achieved her A Levels at Malbank Sixth Form College and got a place at
Cheltenham University to study what she thought was English Literature but soon
found out she’d been put on the English course; two entirely different subjects so
incredibly disappointed she switched to Photography but left after six months. Nic
did eventually get a 2:2 degree in English Literature at Crewe and Alsager College.
Post graduation, Nic was one of the first employees taken on by Morrisons as food
prep manager at the newly built store in Crewe. Her mum also worked in the
canteen, and it was when she met her dearest friend Ruth.
Nic and Ruth knew each other for 21 years, they were best friends sharing many
holidays together traveling the world including Las Vegas, New York, Sri Lanka,
Iceland and many more locations.
From the day they met at Morrisons, they remained best friends over the subsequent
years. Nic left Morrison’s to work for Marks & Spencer’s as a food manager at the
Crewe store before moving to Argos in Crewe working alongside Ruth again.
Nic managed numerous stores for Argos from Winsford to Telford and Cannock
where she was the store manager. She was liked and loved by many colleagues for
her kind positive nature which earned her tremendous respect and enabled her to
build a huge circle of friends and work colleagues.
After Nic bought her own house, Ruth lived with her for several years and never fell
out then nor since. Even after Nic purchased an expensive set of Pans which were
destroyed by Ruth’s cooking one evening! It never affected their friendship, which
demonstrated the kind of person Nic was and no matter what someone did she
always put things into perspective, stayed positive and had the ability to see the
funny side of any mishap.
10 years ago, Ruth met her partner Paul but Nic treated Paul like she had known him
as long as Ruth. Spending many holidays together and building up an unbreakable
friendship over the years with him too. Nic welcomed and treated Paul’s Son Ethan
and daughter Chloe like a nephew and niece from day one, in fact Ethan spent years
calling her Auntie Vic but Nic never got annoyed or frustrated despite the number of
times she corrected him, they formed a friendship and understanding that only they
could relate to.

In 2012, Ruth and Paul welcomed their daughter Samantha into the world followed
by Joseph the year after. Nic proudly took on the role of god parent to them both,
forging a loving relationship which was irreplaceable.
To them she was their adorable Auntie Nic who they will never forget and always
hold close to their hearts.
Samantha and Joseph still think to this day that Argos is Santa’s toy store and that
Auntie Nic works for Santa! And it wasn’t just the gifts she gave, Nic showered them
with love and affection as she also did with Ethan and Chloe.
Holidays were a big part of Nic’s life, with Ruth and her family, and with friends but
also with her mum, dad and Andrew.
Her travels also included most European countries, Russia, America, Mexico, Cuba,
The Caribbean, Egypt, Kenya, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore but sadly never
made it to South America, Australia or New Zealand although it was on her to do list.
She loved the luxury of cruising with the opportunity to relax on board then explore
when the ship docked but by far her most favourite holiday was a safari in Kenya in
2008 because of her passion for animals.
A memory she treasured was a spectacular hot air balloon ride in Ambroseli National
Park on the border with Tanzania, and I smiled as Beryl told me Nic easily
remembered the name of the park by thinking about Ambrosia rice pudding!
Setting off at daybreak they saw Mount Kilamanjaro strong and proud above the
clouds then they descended in time for an open-air breakfast with elephants and
giraffes roaming freely in the distance.
Nic had several interests and hobbies, predominantly her love of animals, she had a
keen interest in animal welfare and supported animal charities. She adored her cats,
Lennox, Lewis, Macy and George.
What else did Nic enjoy? She was an avid reader, and never without a book in her
hand whilst relaxing in the sun on holiday. The number of books she collected over
the years would fill a section in W H Smiths and she preferred listening to Audio
Books rather than music, during the long journeys to and from work in the car.
She also liked going to the cinema particularly as she had a free pass, she often
went with a group from work, and Nic regularly went to the theatre to see musicals or
plays.
She also liked watching the TV and box sets. And whenever possible she was glued
to Good Morning Britain and Loose Women; she would be well miffed at missing this
new series of I’m a Celebrity! Her other passion in life was online shopping,
including enough shoes and bags to fill a shop, but her passionate dislikes were cut
flowers, gardening and housework! If she had swapped her compulsive shopping for
an obsession for housework, she would have given the cleaning sensation Mrs
Hinch some competition – Mrs Hinch, your crown was always safe!

May she rest in peace.