Maria Hayes Sherman lost her battle with cancer on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at 62 years of age at her home in Starkville surrounded by family. Her funeral mass will be on Tuesday, April 23 at 11:00 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Starkville. There will be a visitation beginning at 9:30 at the church followed by a decade of the rosary.
Maria will be laid to rest beside her infant daughter, Anna Claire; graveside service will be in the Greenlawn Cemetery in Greenville starting at 4:00 under the direction of Boone Funeral Home.
She was born Anna Maria Hayes on June 24, 1961, at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, to Peter and Clara Bennett Hayes. She grew up at the family home in Carthage with her older brother, Pete. A 1979 graduate of Carthage High School, Maria continued her education at Mississippi University for Women “The W” in Columbus. She made many dear friends that she still has today by way of BlackList and Mam’selle social groups. While working at the local ladies’ clothing store, she met her husband of 40 years, Michael Anthony Sherman. The two married at Annunciation Catholic Church in Columbus on November 11, 1984, before starting their life together in Michael’s hometown of Greenville. Maria quickly found use for her talents, singing for countless weddings, filming local commercials,and starring in multiple Delta Center Stage productions. She was employed at the Mannequin Shoppe in the years before children as a buyer and enjoyed her travels to New York several times a year.
Maria was a devoted wife and mother, staying home to raise and homeschool her two children, and then working for St. Joseph Catholic Church in Greenville as the music director. Maria and Michael moved to Starkville in 2012 where she picked right up and directed the 9:00 choir at their church and cantored at the Catholic church in West Point. Her background in retail was utilized through several jobs in local businesses. Maria’s strong faith was apparent by her daily mass attendance, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and praying the rosary. She happily and frequently shared her faith with family, friends, and acquaintances.
Maria was so much to so many as she fervently invested her time, love, and energy in anyone who crossed her path. She lived life for her immediate family, extended family, and dear friends. She was an exceptional woman and is loved by her family so deeply. Her absence is tangible and leaves behind a legacy of love and service to others. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her.
Maria is survived by her husband, Michael; her children, Marguerite Duke (John) of Brandon, and Thomas Sherman (Lauren) of Mandeville, Louisiana; and her seven grandchildren whom she loved so dearly: John William (10), Anna (8), Miriam (6), Holland (3), and Samuel Duke (7 months), and Claire (2) and William Sherman (2 months). Maria is also survived by her nephew Bennett Hayes of Jackson.
Maria is preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Clara Hayes, daughter Anna Sherman, brother Pete Hayes, and niece Weslea Hayes.
A special thanks to the caring hearts at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson and Gentiva Hospice for their tender care of our Maria.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to St. Joseph Catholic Church, 607 University Dr, Starkville, MS 39759.