October 22, 1911—September 10, 2011
Lorraine Olivette Haynes was born October 22, 1911 to Julia Aline and Lawrence Singleton Haynes. She was the second of three children and the only girl. Her parents and brothers preceded her in death.
Lorraine loved to sing, dance, cook and sew. She received her first sewing lesson when her great aunt saw her trying to tie some sewing thread around a straight pin. Lorraine was an impeccable seamstress and an expert tailor. She did military sewing at the Barney’s Military Store. She could read the chevron (stripes) of any soldier who walked in the store. Lorraine worked the factories (piece work) when the war was over. Eventually, she became the first seamstress for the St. Louis Police Department until her health started failing. She volunteered at Wesley House and as a hostess and guide at the Old Court House. She was an active member of St. Engelbert (St. Elizabeth) Catholic Church, a lifetime member of the NAACP, Urban League and Block Unit Captain. She was videotaped for the Vaughn Cultural Center, UMSL Library, demonstrating the history and construction of the “Apron Bonnet” at several public schools and the Julia Davis Public Library and is in the Living Treasure book. Several articles and pictures were featured in the St. Louis Post-dispatch, North Side Journal and the St. Louis American. She displayed her “cotton pickin” sweet bread and wore the “Apron Bonnet.”
She received her first cooking lesson from her grandmother (Momma Kate). We all know how good her “cotton pickin” sweet bread is. She took her children and grandchildren in the kitchen and had them make the cake. The recipe is a family secret.
Lorraine was educated in the St. Louis Public School system, graduating from Simmons Elementary in 1927 and Charles Sumner High School in 1930. After graduating, she moved to South Orange, New Jersey and worked as a domestic for a family originally from St. Louis. There she met and married George Maurice Gunther. Children born to this union are Amerilys Lorraine and Sandra Aline.
In 1946, she was united in Holy Matrimony to Clarence Gasway. The children of this union are Janice Theresa and Jeanne Philomena.
She leaves to cherish her memory: four children, Amerilys L. Bowden, Sandra A. Seals, Janice Smith and Jeanne (Lee) Bourrage; 13 grandchildren, Kim (Ron) Gragg, Carole (Gregory) Harding, Meryl Davie-Newton, Anita (Millard) Curtis, William (Estella) Davie, Denise Wyatt, Claire Wilson, Harold Anthony (Sandra) Davie, Carla Seals, Victor (Kiko) Seals, Brock Seals, Rory (Kacy) Seals, Melanie
