Kenneth Hayes

Kenneth Hayes

A distinguished internist in San Jose from 1957 to 1996, died on May 28, 2013, at the Saratoga Retirement Community after a long illness. He was 92. Dr. Hayes was known for his great compassion, patience, astute observation, a wide breadth of medical knowledge, and a deep appreciation for the human condition.

Dr. Hayes was born in Berkeley, California, to Kenneth Aurand Hayes and Margaret Calder Hayes, sister of American artist, Alexander Calder, inventor of the mobile. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and attended medical school at the University of Chicago. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver and an internship at the San Joaquin Valley County Hospital before working as a staff physician at Agnew State Hospital in Alviso, California, in 1957. He had his own medical practice in San Jose from 1958 to 1988, and served as a staff physician at a San Jose outpatient clinic of the Veteran's Administration until 1996.

Dr. Hayes was a long-serving member of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Association's Environmental Health Committee and served for many years as a delegate to the California Medical Association. In 1990, the Santa Clara Valley Medical Association recognized Dr. Hayes for his outstanding contributions to the medical profession. During World War II, Dr. Hayes initially served at a Civilian Public Service camp in Southern California as a conscientious objector. After spending one year at the Civilian Public Service camp, Dr. Hayes transferred to non-combatant service in the medical corps and was stationed in Guam.

In 1974, when his wife Janet Gray Hayes was elected San Jose's first woman mayor, Dr. Hayes supported his wife's political ambitions and career fully, a testament to his self-confidence and progressive outlook. However, while Janet Gray's was a public persona, Kenneth's was a private one. He was a powerfully thoughtful and insightful man who connected best with people on a deeply individual and personal level. But the couple was truly a team. He and Janet Gray enjoyed an amazing 63-year marriage, melding two very distinct and different personalities into a strong and enduring partnership. Together, they worked for decades to improve the quality of life in San Jose. They gave generously to and worked on behalf of numerous environmental, artistic, educational and political causes.

Dr. Hayes was a talented jazz pianist and life-long jazz enthusiast. He was also a lettered athlete during his collegiate and medical school careers and an avid sportsman. While he was still practicing medicine, he typically beat much younger doctors at singles, a phenomenon that few of them have forgotten. After Dr. Hayes retired from active medical practice, he began an illustrious tennis career. He began competing in the 75 to 80 year-old division and continued playing competitive national-level tournament tennis until just two months shy of his 92nd birthday. He and his long-standing doubles partner, Jim Carleton of Redding, California, were consistently ranked by the United States Tennis Association as one of the top doubles teams in the nation. In 2005, their winning record was 18-0 in the Men's 85-90 age-group division. Dr. Hayes was always a gentleman in his competitive play and set up his points like a chess player, regularly ending the point just as he had planned.

He is survived by his wife, Janet Gray Hayes, his daughter, Lindy Hayes of San Jose and her daughters Patsy and Mei Mei, his son John Hayes of Arlington, MA (Rachel) and their son Spencer, his daughter, Katherine Hayes Rodriguez of Truckee, CA (Neil) and their sons, Zeke and Taber, his daughter, Megan Hayes of Laramie, WY (ReeZars) and their children, Levin, Cordelia and Tilden. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made on behalf of Kenneth Hayes to the Sierra Club, the League to Save Lake Tahoe, he San Jose Museum of Art, Planned Parenthood, or the University of California at Berkeley. His family is planning a memorial service later this summer to celebrate his life.