THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

KINGS MOUNTAIN- Wanda Louise Hays, 86, of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, passed away peacefully at home on May 9, 2026. Wanda was born in November 1939 in Clark County, Indiana. She was the second of six children born to Ruth (Noe) Prather and Goebel Copple. Raised in the rural countryside with humble beginnings, Wanda spent her childhood outdoors playing with her siblings, where she developed both a tenacious spirit and a lifelong love of nature. Even as a young girl, she p