Priscilla Jane Hayes of Boston died peacefully on Aug. 29, 2022, surrounded by her loving family. She was 82.

Priscilla, known to her family as “Poog,” was a loving and devoted wife, mother, Nana, sister, aunt, great aunt and friend. She was an empathetic and attentive listener who dispensed wise advice with a (mostly) light touch. While Priscilla’s natural beauty and genuine elegance made an impression on all who spent time with her, it was her inner beauty that shined the brightest. She was a fierce advocate for her children and grandchildren and was extraordinarily proud of each one of them. More than anything, she loved being with her family and sharing laughs-she was the most wonderful combination of silly and serious.

Priscilla was an irrepressible spirit who will be deeply missed.

Priscilla Jane Alden was born March 25, 1940, in Portland, Maine.Her mother, Barbara, and her father, John, were both brought up in Maine and attended Colby College. The family moved frequently to various towns in Massachusetts, finally settling in Andover, where Priscilla and her two brothers graduated from high school. A passionate advocate for children and early childhood development and education, Priscilla graduated from Wheelock College in Boston in 1962. She took an elementary teaching position in the San Francisco Bay Area where she taught kindergarten and first grade. Her love for young children and how they learn, and her belief in the importance of creative play, was one of the guiding passions of her life.

Priscilla met the love of her life, Robert Hayes, in California, where Bob was in grad school. They married in 1963 at the Ocean Point Chapel in East Boothbay, Maine. After the birth of their first child, Bob and Poog moved back to the Boston area and settled in Belmont, Massachusetts, where they raised their fam-ily and spent happy times in the company of their neighborhood friends. They had many adventures beyond Boston, including time abroad in Lausanne, Switzerland in the 1970s and Hong Kong in the early 1990s.

Midcoast Maine was Priscilla’s happy place. She spent childhood summers at her grandparents’ family cottage on Grimes Cove in Ocean Point,with its beautiful swimming cove, rocky shore and spectacular views of nearby islands. In the early 1980s, Bob and Priscilla settled into a log cabin home at Spruce Shores overlooking Linekin Bay in East Boothbay. There she and Bob enjoyed many summers of boating and swimming off their dock, visiting with friends and family, and enjoying delicious meals on their porch while admiring the gorgeous views and sunsets over the bay.

From her earliest childhood, Priscilla was an art maker. She was always drawing, sketching or painting. Her pieces ranged from impressionist to abstract, with bold strokes of bright color and a vibrant spiritual energy that reflected her own. The natural world, particularly the coast of Maine, inspired her work. She converted the boat room of their cabin in Maine into a studio where she created her signature large, colorful canvases including an extensive series entitled “Painted Prayers.” Outside the summer season, Priscilla worked in a small studio in Boston that was a short walk from their apartment. Her paintings have appeared in magazine articles and on the covers of books and United Nations publications, and are in private collections throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. Her work has also been widely exhibited in solo, two-person, group, and invitational shows. The homes of her family and friends are adorned with her joyful canvases. Priscilla also wrote and illustrated a children’s story inspired by her first grandchild, “The Too Much Love Story.” In their later years, Priscilla and Bob downsized to a cozy and airy apartment in a historic building on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. There they enjoyed walks in the nearby Public Garden and surrounding neighborhoods, discovering the local shops and restaurants, and receiving visits from family and friends. They also loved their annual winter trips to Vieques, P.R., where they relaxed, basked in the tropical weather and landscapes, took long walks, and recharged their creative batteries.

Priscilla is survived by her husband of 59 years, Bob Hayes, of Boston, Massachusetts; her older brother, Jack Alden and his wife, Ellen, of West Newbury, Massachusetts; her younger brother, Dick Alden and his wife, Priscilla, of Ocean Point, Maine; her daughter, Melissa Hayes Albert and her husband, Dan, of Marblehead, Massachusetts; her son Jonathan Hayes and his wife, Caroline Carney, of Cambridge, Massachusetts; her daughter Michelle Hicks and her husband, Cam, of Cambridge, Massachusetts; and nine grandchildren ranging in age from 22 to 4 years old: Molly, Joey and Rachael Albert of Marblehead, Ben, Cate and Matt Hicks of Cambridge, and Vienna, Juliette and Michael Hayes of Cambridge. She is also survived by her loving nieces and nephews and their spouses.

A private celebration of life will be planned.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Priscilla’s memory to any of the following organizations that were special to her: Bigelow Lab in East Boothbay, Maine (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences-Bold Science for Our Blue Planet),The Boothbay Region Land Trust (bbrlt.org), and Horizons For Homeless Children (Horizons for Homeless Children (horizonschildren.org).

Priscilla’s grandson, Ben Hicks, made a short video on her philosophy on the importance of play and how we all have a creative spark within us: PJH: The Story of Charlie. Those who would like to view Priscilla’s joyful art can visit her website at www.priscillahayes.com.