Fr. Thomas James Hayes Op

1932 - 2022

Fr. Thomas James
Hayes, OP
February 20, 1932 - September 10, 2022
Fr. Thomas James "Tommy" Hayes, OP, died peacefully at St. Albert Priory, Oakland, on Saturday, September 10, after serving as a priest for 63 years. He was the eldest of four boys born to Nicholas John and Helen Ann (Kavet) Hayes and was baptized James Walter. He was born in Seattle, and during the Great Depression, the family moved back to Benicia, California, where his father had been born and raised. Fr. Tommy attended Saint Catherine Academy in Benicia and Saint Vincent Ferrer High School in Vallejo, both of which were run by the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael who introduced him to the Order founded by St. Dominic de Guzman. He spent his freshman year of college at Saint Martin's Benedictine Abbey in Washington, returned to California for studies at Saint Mary's College of Moraga, and then entered the novitiate of the Western Dominican Province. After his first profession of vows on August 15, 1952, he continued his academic and pastoral preparation for ordination and ministry as a Dominican priest at Saint Albert's College, Oakland, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 12, 1959.
Fr. Tommy's ministries included teaching positions at Saint Albert's College, Saint Mary's College, Moraga, and Mount Saint Mary's College, Los Angeles. He also served as chaplain to the students at Saint Mary's College from 1962 to 1965. He was entrusted with many positions of leadership by his Dominican brothers, including being elected Prior of communities in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and serving as pastor and superior of the local Dominican communities at St. Dominic's, Benicia, and Holy Family Cathedral, Anchorage. He also was appointed superior of the Dominican community in Menlo Park. In addition, he served as Director of the St. Jude Shrine in San Francisco, and, later, was the Director of Western Dominican Preaching.
Fr. Tommy loved telling a good story and loved hearing a good story even more. He was humorous and fiercely loyal to his family and friends - and they are many. He loved his hometown of Benicia, his biological family, and his Dominican family. He was preceded in death by his brothers Jack and Michael, and is survived by his youngest brother, Jerry, and sisters-in-law Maryellen and Susan Hayes, his nieces Casey, Beth, Patty, Katie and Kristen, and his nephew, Michael Hayes, Jr.
A vigil will be held at St. Dominic Catholic Church, San Francisco, on Friday, September 16, at 7:30 p.m. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, September 17, at St. Dominic Catholic Church, Benicia. Burial will follow at St. Dominic Cemetery, Benicia.
A memorial fund has been established to honor Fr. Hayes. Following his wishes, gifts will support the education of his Dominican brothers still in initial formation. Please donate online at opwest.org/frthomashayes or by mail to Western Dominican Province, 5877 Birch Court, Oakland, CA 94618. Arrangements are under the direction of Passalacqua Funeral Chapel, Benicia. Please visit the online tribute at www.passalacquafuneralchapel.com