Peter J. Hayes

1926 - 2019

Peter J. Hayes died peacefully on August 30, 2019 after rewarding careers in journalism and voluntarism. Born May 31, 1926 in Vancouver, Canada, he moved with his family to Seattle, WA in 1939. There he attended Roosevelt High School and was a 1948 journalism graduate from the University of Washington, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and Sigma Delta Chi Society of Professional Journalists. Upon graduation, he joined United Press (later United Press International) in Spokane, WA, and later Seattle, Anchorage, Alaska, and San Francisco. In Alaska he met and married Carol Lou Tippit, a reporter on the Anchorage Daily News. In San Francisco he edited Korean War dispatches and wrote numerous feature stories such as a 75th birthday interview with retired Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz and San Francisco's Beat Generation cultural scene. Hayes was San Francisco bureau manager in 1966 when he went to work on The Sacramento Union, serving as editor in 1970-74 and 1982-83 before retiring as editorial page editor and columnist in 1990. In retirement he was a contributing editor of The Union and wrote freelance articles for Sierra Heritage and Outdoor California magazines. Soon after retirement he began volunteering as editor of the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library newsletter. In 2001, the American River Natural History Association (ARNHA) published "An American River Almanac," a collection of Sunday nature editorials he had written for The Union, along with photographs by Tom Myers and George Turner. With release of the "Almanac," Hayes joined the ARNHA Board and helped edit its publications, including a second collection of his nature editorials, "An American River Journal," featuring pen-and-ink drawings by his ARNHA colleague, Jo Glasson Smith. In addition, he volunteered as a reading tutor at Jonas Salk High-Tech Academy and contributed to the Sacramento Audubon Society newsletter. In 2009, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors recognized him as County Parks Volunteer of the Year. He enjoyed camping with his beloved family, growing roses and fuchsias, bird-watching and reading Western history. When he moved from his Sacramento home of 60 years to Eskaton Village Carmichael in September, 2016, he authored a weekly blog, "Notes From Pete." He was predeceased by his parents, Paul and Wilna Hayes, a brother, Ivan, and his adored wife, Carol Lou. He leaves his daughters, Debbie Kenngott and husband Max, Julie Heskett and husband Matt, both of Sacramento; and Betsy Pawlowich and husband Keith of Ogden, UT; grandchildren Sunny Kenngott, wife Gabe and great granddaughter Zella; Lindsay Hopkins, husband Matt and great grandsons Colby and Cooper; Cody Kenngott and fiancée Sarah Keyser-Alvis, Anna Wright, husband Nik and great grandsons Benjamin and Oliver; Laura Pawlowich, Celia Pawlowich, Abby Northcutt, husband Evan and great granddaughters Penny, Evelyn and Fiona; and Bonnie Dackins, husband Patrick and great granddaughter Piper. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a memorial service on Saturday September 21 at 1:00 P.M. at Arden Christian Church, 4300 Las Cruces Way, Sacramento. Memorial Donations may be made to the American River Natural History Association P.O. Box 241 , Carmichael, CA 95609