Ronald D. Hayes (75) of Urbana, formerly of Louisville

Ronald D. Hayes, 75, of Urbana and formerly of Louisville, passed away peacefully on May 15, 2019, at home and surrounded by family.

He was born in Flora, IL, on June 1, 1943, to Roger and Mary Hayes (Kincaid).

He is survived by wife Manju (Chatterjee); son Jonathan (Sara Benson); daughter Marcia (Elizabeth Marsh) and grandson Ezra, brothers Ed (Jeanne), David (Cindy), and Dan (Karlina); sister Nancy (Hayes) Fickas; sister-in-law Kay (Fender) Hayes; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers Robert (Jean) and Jack.

He was raised in Louisville and after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Ron joined the Peace Corps. He served two years in India, where he met his wife of 50 years and went on picnic dates her father didn’t know about until later. He worked as an engineer for Schlumberger and Essex Wire. He previously resided in Mt. Zion, IL and Ft. Wayne, IN. His hobbies included woodworking, watching TV shows about woodworking, spending time with family and friends, genealogy, travel, and afternoon naps.

A graveside service honoring the life of Ronald will be conducted at 1:30 pm Saturday, May 18 at Newton Chapel Cemetery in rural Louisville. Triplett & Neal Funeral Home in Louisville is in charge of the care and arrangements. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (michaeljfox.org). You are invited to share your memories of Ronald and leave a condolence by clicking here.