Richard Michael Hayes' Obituary
Richard Michael Hayes, 83, of Decatur, passed away on Sunday, October 12, 2025, in Peoria, IL.
He was born to Lois & Richard Hayes in Lincoln, IL on April 20, 1942.
Mike was a 1960 graduate of Lincoln High School where he was a four-sport athlete who made his high school friends, his life-long friends. Some of his favorite events were attending his class reunions and the monthly breakfasts with his classmates of 64 years.
He always loved cars and at one point had a 1965 Stingray Corvette and also began Go-kart racing after high school. He and his friends had karts and they built a quarter-mile track outside his mother’s house on 5th street in Lincoln. Complete with flags and a finish line.
Mike met the love of his life, Pamela K. Ryan, in 1962 while working with her father Vern on the farm at Lincoln State School. He joined the National Guard and initially lived in Centralia, Il working for the Warren G. Murray Center until the fall of 1966. Mike and Pam married on May 27, 1967 and settled in Decatur where he continued to work for the State of Illinois at the Adolph Meyer Center until his retirement after 37 years of service.
Mike was always active in his community. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree and an active volunteer for the March of Dimes and the Special Olympics. He also had a tremendous love for music which evolved into MAAP (Mike, Amy, Angie & Pam) Productions where he managed local bands in the area and allowed them to hold practice sessions in the family basement. Music would remain an important constant in his life especially as his Alzheimer’s progressed. He still knew the chorus to most songs, especially anything by Credence Clearwater Revival and as recent as three weeks ago was singing the Illinois Fight song with his dear friend Shirley Kistler.
He enjoyed working in the yard until he couldn’t anymore, but kept up his role as the social organizer and his house was always a gathering space. Mike loved hosting parties, pig roasts and his annual Superbowl party. Mike and Pam had a loving set of friends and family who they had many adventures with. From Disney World trips to the Final Four in New Orleans, Siesta Key, FL, Alaska, Vancouver and Ireland. He loved to just go and up until a year and a half ago, was still flying to Arizona to visit his sisters-in-law Patricia Ryan and Terri Hall for weeks at a time. He loved their porch in Munds Park. Later in life you could always find him at Thursday morning coffee with the guys and the holidays were his favorite. It wasn’t uncommon for him to show up on a doorstep with a tin of cashews or a bottle of wine.
Mike’s true legacy was as an advocate for young women in the world of sports. It started when his eldest daughter wanted to play basketball in grade school but there was no team. Mike and another parent decided to start a team and coach, which they repeated when the girls got to junior high. When there was a desire to play softball, Mike organized parents and after two years of petitioning the school board, helped Maroa-Forsyth HS develop its first softball team. Two years later that team finished its season at an IHSA Regional Final. He also organized the first Girl’s Athletic Booster Club for Maroa-Forsyth.
His passion for softball grew from sponsoring and coaching a girl’s slow-pitch team into one of the largest fastpitch organizations in Illinois during the mid-80’s through the mid-90’s. Central Illinois Girls Softball started with one team then expanded into several; ranging from multiple teams on multiple levels from 10u-Women’s Major. Some of his teams even got international exposure. One team took a softball tour of Australia in 1987 and his women’s team made several trips to Vancouver, BC to participate in one of the largest Open International Tournaments, the Canada Cup. Mike’s determination in raising awareness and support for equity in women’s sports helped put Decatur on the map for women’s softball. He was the assistant softball coach at Millikin University from 2000-2004. Once his coaching slowed down, he stayed involved through refereeing and umpiring and as the coordinator for a local sport officials consortium. His meritorious service was recognized further when, surrounded by family and friends, he was inducted into the Illinois ASA Hall of Fame in 2017.
The family would like to thank Dr. Rogers and all of the nurses, staff and palliative care specialists at Proctor Medical Hospital in Peoria, IL as well as Dr. Nutakor and the ER staff at St. Mary’s hospital. Your care and compassion are greatly appreciated.
Not enough can be said about the people you choose to surround yourself with and Mike and Pam had a strong crew of supporters who visited, sat and laughed with him. A special mention to Troy Cook who remained close with the family and cared for Mike when Pam needed to go out of town.
On October 12, Mike lost an over ten-year battle with Alzheimer’s and frontal lobe dementia. It was the loving care and attention of his wife Pam, who single-handedly gifted him years that most just don’t get. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Alzheimer’s foundation and/or click “other” on the Carle donation site and specify Geriatric Psych or the Carle Hospice- of Greater Peoria button.
His parents and one sister, Ann, preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Pam; daughters, Amy Hayes (Heather Moles) of Santa Barbara, CA, and Angie Cook of Decatur; grandchildren, Xavier Cook (29), Myah Cook (26), Avery Cook (19) and Atton Hayes (16). He is also survived by one sister, Patricia French of Lincoln, IL; and several sisters-in-law and their spouses, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Visitation for Mike will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at Our Lady of Lourdes in Decatur. Funeral Mass will take place at 11:00 a.m. with burial to follow at Macon County Memorial Park.
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