John E. Hayes Jr.

1943 - 2022

John E. Hayes Jr.
June 7, 1943 - December 25, 2022
Sacramento, California - John E. Hayes Jr., aka "the Dude", passed away December 25th in Sacramento CA after a multi-year battle with multiple illnesses. Born 7 June 1943 in Cambridge MA, he moved to Syracuse NY as a small boy. Trained as an engineer at Cornell, he worked for Inland Steel outside Chicago, where he met and charmed his wife Betty with his quick wit and sense of humor. He returned home in 1972 to take over the family business. After a career as an entrepreneur and small businessman, John and Betty retired to Sacramento in 2012.
John is survived by Betty, his wife of 53 years, and daughter Meghan and son-in-law Mike Kirchner in Sacramento, son John and daughter-in-law Micaela in State College PA, and grandchildren Brooke and Colin Kirchner, and Maggie and Jack Hayes.
Outside work, John prided himself on being active in his community, serving on his local school board for a decade. His main hobby in retirement was walking in the mall, which kept his body and spirit alive. In 2016, he completed his goal of walking 24,901 miles, the circumference of the earth at the latitude of Sacramento.
John was an irrepressible optimist - despite numerous medical challenges, he always fought on to remain with his family. He was extremely proud of his children and loved his grandchildren deeply. Memorial contributions may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Details for a Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date.