Alfred "Bud" Denney Hayes

Born August 10, 1928 in Long Beach, California, Bud was part of the first generation on his mother's side to be born outside of Wayne, Kentucky in over 100 years. In 1904 oil was discovered on family land in Kentucky. By 1910, oil brought his mother's family to Coalinga, California and then to Long Beach where she met Bud's father who was working in the oilfields in the Signal Hill area. As a child, Bud enjoyed having his sister, Velma Lou, his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandmother always living nearby. He spent his early years living near the ocean and playing at The Pike in Long Beach. This was during the time of the "big" Long Beach earthquake. He liked to tell the story that, at the time of the earthquake, he and his sister were on the kitchen counter sneaking into the cookie jar and the shaking started. They believed it was their mother shaking the house! After the earthquake everyone was afraid to go inside buildings and so they "got to" camp outside and he slept in the rumble seat of his dad's Model T. Eventually the family would follow the oil back to Coalinga and settle in Fresno County. Bud was in high school during WWII and wanted nothing more than to join the war, but the war ended in 1945 and he would graduate from Riverdale High School in 1946. He would go on to work in the dairy business and make a living showing cows. In 1951 he was drafted into the Army and would fight in Korea for two years and was proud to say he had been part of the 7th Cavalry. After returning home, he would meet his wife, Betty Jo, while he was showing Holsteins and she was showing Ayrshires. They would have three children during the 1950's. Bud alternated between working on dairies and working in the oilfields, following in the footsteps of his father and maternal grandfather. In the 1960's he made a career change and joined the Department of Forestry (now CalFire) and worked at Pleasant Valley in Coalinga along the newly built I-5, where he drove one of the first "jaws of life" in the area. Eventually he would transfer into the Conservation Camp system and worked at Slack Canyon in Monterey County and Chamberlain Creek in Mendocino County, before moving to Siskiyou County where he lived for 40 years. Betty Jo passed in 2003, just shy of 49 years of marriage, and Bud would continue to make his home in Quartz Valley until moving to Fort Jones a few years ago to live with his second wife, Carol. As anyone who knew him would agree, Bud was always a great storyteller and lived a life of good times. Although distance would too often keep his children and grandchildren apart, he loved them and was dearly loved by them. He will be missed by all who knew him. Survivors include his three children: Daniel (Roxanne), Justin, and Sue (Eric), 5 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, and wife Carol of Fort Jones. A memorial service will take place in June at the Fort Jones Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations be made to Madrone Hospice, 255 Collier Circle, Yreka, CA 96097.

Alfred "Bud" Denney Hayes

August 10, 1928 - March 23, 2021