Constance Joan Hayes, MD passed away peacefully in Teaneck, New Jersey, at the age of 87.

“Connie,” as she was known, distinguished herself over a long career as a beloved pediatric cardiologist, touching the lives of countless patients, families, students, and colleagues at the Columbia University Medical Center Division of Pediatric Cardiology, the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Columbia Babies Hospital, now known as the New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital.

An accomplished physician with a sweet and kind disposition, Connie made fans of every person who crossed paths with her, whether in her professional or personal life. She was full of compassion and good-heartedness and was always trying to help others. Full of warmth and simple decency, she inspired everyone who knew her with her grace and generosity.

Connie was born July 16, 1937, in Cortland, New York, to John and Anna (née McGuire) Hayes.

She completed both a Bachelor’s and a Nursing degree in 1959 from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. Connie then moved to New York City and became a nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital in Manhattan. There, she was encouraged by her mentors to apply to medical school. Inquiries at several medical schools were met with discouraging and chauvinistic responses, but the Dean of the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago decided to give her a chance, even paying for her airline ticket for an interview visit. In 1961, she began medical school at Stritch, continuing to work nursing shifts to help pay her way. She graduated from Stritch in 1965, one of only four women in a graduating class of 90 medical students.

After medical school, Connie did her Internship and her Residency in Pediatrics at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. In 1968, she moved uptown to the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in Washington Heights. She joined as a Fellow in Pediatric Cardiology, completing her Fellowship in 1971. She became Board-Certified in Pediatrics in 1973, and a Board-Certified Pediatric Cardiologist in 1977, the 418^th physician to attain that certification, or one of the first 10 percent of all doctors to ever do so. The American College of Cardiology named her a Fellow in 1980. In 1998, Connie was named Associate Professor in the Clinical Practice of Pediatrics, and she was named Full Professor in 1999.

Connie remained at Columbia University Medical Center, teaching and practicing Pediatric Cardiology and serving her medical community for 38 years. She had 46 academic publications and 25 abstracts to her credit.  She continued working in the Pediatric Cardiology clinic long after retiring from daily practice in 2006. She was named Professor Emeritus in 2008.

In 1980, Connie married the love of her life, Edward Lewison, and became a “not-evil” stepmother to Ed’s children Sarah, Amy, Martin, and Laura.

Ed and Connie lived together in Englewood Cliffs, NJ for 39 years before moving to Teaneck, NJ in 2019. Ed was Connie’s personal fan club. While Connie’s quiet and modest nature would never have allowed her to talk about her life’s accomplishments, Ed felt no such constraint, and he trumpeted Connie’s achievements and his adoration to any ear that would listen. She was his world right up to his passing at age 94 in 2023.

Connie enjoyed skiing, reading and the book club, and spending time with family. She was a mother to many cats over the years, including Yoda, Charlie, Francis, Francie, and Danny Boy. She attended Mass every Sunday, and loved decorating and giving gifts at Christmas time.

Connie was preceded in death by her father John, mother Anna, sister Mary Ann (Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet) , brother Jack, and her husband of 42 years, Ed.

Connie is survived by her sister, Katharine, eight very dear nieces and nephews and their children, four step-children and their children and grandchildren, as well as Francie and Danny Boy, for whom a good home has been found.

The family will receive their friends on Tuesday September 3, 2024 from 4-8 PM at the Frank A. Patti and Kenneth Mikatarian Funeral Home 327 Main Street “opposite the Fort Lee Library”.  The funeral will leave Wednesday at 9:30 AM  for the celebration of her funeral mass in Holy Trinity  R C Church at 10:30 AM.   Interment to follow at The Garden of Memories in the Township of Washington, New Jersey.  For condolences, directions, or information www.frankpatti.com or call (201) 944-0100.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Connie’s memory to the New York Foundling Hospital and New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital.