Charles Raymond Hayes, a Western Kentucky University alumnus and longtime business leader in western Kentucky, died Nov. 24 and left behind a legacy of education, compassion and community service. 

Hayes was born in 1927 in Gilbertsville, Kentucky, but grew up in Louisville. He graduated from high school in 1943 and went on to WKU with an athletic scholarship in basketball and baseball. 

Hayes served in World War II for two years and later used his GI Bill, a U.S. law that provides educational and other benefits to military veterans, to finish school and play baseball. He also met his wife, Juanita McIntosh, during his time at WKU. 

“He loved Western,” said Marla Rafferty, Hayes’ daughter.

By the time he was 21, he had finished college, married and started coaching high school basketball at Walton-Verona High School in Walton, Kentucky, and later coached Little League for about 10 years. After coaching, he moved to Owensboro and began an entry-level position at Western Kentucky Gas Company, ultimately becoming the company’s president and CEO. 

Hayes maintained a close connection with the university throughout his life, as he remained actively involved with the WKU Alumni Association Board. He made lifelong friends, including Dee Gibson, who oversaw student affairs, and Gene Rhodes, who played basketball at WKU and went to high school with him. Hayes and his wife established a scholarship, the Juanita and Charles Hayes Scholarship Fund.  

In 1989, Hayes retired and moved to Hot Spring Village, Arkansas. There, he built and operated a marina on Lake Balboa in Arkansas with his family. Hayes was known for his storytelling and sense of humor, and enjoyed golfing, boating, travelling, and spending time with family. Hayes also visited all 50 states and was active in community and church life. 

“He was just such a nice, compassionate, generous person,” Rafferty said. “He would want others to remember him as always kind and respectful, considerate of other people.”