Richard Alan Hayes

It could be said that Richard Hayes didn’t know a stranger. He was kind and generous to all, and you couldn’t help but love him. He stopped and talked to anyone, and always lent a helping hand. So his sudden death on February 7, 2023 in Manassas, Virginia sent shock waves through all who knew him. He was an active sixty-seven-year-old who had just driven across country with his wife, Denise, and their dog and cat. Just five weeks later, God called him home. He often told Denise that when it was time to go, he prayed that God would take him quickly as if “turning out the lights.” God honored an honorable man who loved serving not only his Savior, but his country and family as well. Richard is survived by his wife of nearly forty-seven years, Denise Curington Hayes, and his two sons: Jason Hayes and his wife Donna and their four children, Ayden, Brennan, Cameron, and Devon; Justin Hayes and his wife Grace and their two children, Gideon and Silas. Richard Alan Hayes was born on July 15, 1955, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to John and Clarice Hayes. He was the middle child between his older brother Johnny and younger sister, Karen. He always loved working with his hands: it didn’t matter if it was working the land with his father planting fruits and vegetables, working on cars, or just taking things apart to learn how to put them together again. In high school he learned HVAC, which allowed him to bypass technical training when he joined the United States Air Force. Several years later while stationed in Augsburg, Germany, Richard enhanced his military occupational specialty (MOS) by adding electronic controls training. At his very first assignment at Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas, he met the love of his life and soon after married, taking his bride and then also his two sons all over parts of Europe and the United States as he continued to serve in the United States Air Force. He served his country for 20 years on six different bases, including two in Europe. Only 40 years old when he retired from the Air Force, Richard worked in medical electronic controls for five years. Due to his love of cooking and home-grown produce, and with the encouragement of his family, he went to study at the Culinary Institute of America and received his culinary degree in July 2002. Selected as one of the top ten student chefs from the school, Richard was selected to attend the 2002 Aspen Food and Wine Classic where he assisted Jacques Pepin and Bobby Flay. Richard went on to work as a chef in restaurants in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia, but he also used his newfound cooking skills to serve in his church. When Denise’s job took them to California, he became a part of the culinary team at Heritage Baptist Church in San Leandro while he continued to use his civil engineering skills working in a medical practice as their facilities manager. Richard loved the Lord and his family. He had a passion for missions that was palpable. His whole heart was devoted to serving others and it specifically showed in how he gave of himself for missions, seeking to meet needs by hosting missionary families, giving financially, and going out himself to reach others with the gospel of Jesus. When it came to his family, they were his life-long joy. The Hayes house was the “hang out” house where he loved hosting teen activities and cooking Sunday afternoon meals for all of his “kids,” which meant anyone that his sons brought home. He made sure he knew who his boys called friends. Once the boys started college, at least three or four additional young men who were unable to go home for Thanksgiving came to the Hayes house. Later, when the grandchildren came, they became his pride, and they loved calling him “Papa.” Both his daughters-in-law can attest that he begged for grandchildren when they first met him. He never asked for anything more than to just love more people, and he loved to serve them. Truly, his entire life was devoted to service to God and to others. A life lived for God continues to give life after death. While his untimely death has left a large hole in our hearts, and he will be greatly missed, his legacy will live on through us.

Richard Alan Hayes

July 15, 1955 - February 7, 2023