Paul Duane Haynes
Passed away 9 August 2021 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the age of 78.
Paul was born 6 September 1942 in Nevada, Missouri, the 5th and last child of Irl Potter and Margaret Lucille (Weddle) Haynes. His parents would emphasize the value of hard work and education. His birth was at the Nevada City Hospital, the only child in the family to be born in a hospital and not at the family farm home, a 160-acre fully-working farm of crops and animals on a dirt (not even gravel) road four miles from town…later moving at age 10 across town to a smaller farm with the family after fire had completely destroyed the family home. His youth activity included farm chores, 4-H Club participation with his sheep and rabbits, attendance at a one-room rural schoolhouse, Boy Scouts (including a ‘50s train trip to the Boy Scout Jamboree in Valley Forge, Penn.) and church activities at First Christian Church, Nevada, Mo.
Upon graduation from high school (he would say tongue-in-cheek that he was in the top 100%!), Paul enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving four years, three as a Personnelman petty officer (PN2) with an aircraft squadron at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, earning a Good Conduct Medal. He attended Central Michigan University, later graduating from Cleary Business College in Ypsilanti, Mich. His professional career included five years in management with the Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities (CPHA) in Ann Arbor, and 35 years with Professional Management (later joining the preeminent CPA firm Curtis, Bailey, Exelby & Sposito) consulting to and respecting/enjoying private practitioner clients in medicine and dentistry.
Paul, remembering his farm-boy roots, enjoyed sharing with Janet decades of organic gardening, growing many items and took great joy in sharing harvest (fresh and canned/frozen items) with others. His hobbies included environmentalism, camping, cross-country road trips-traveling (and including 50 states, Europe, South America, South Africa, Cuba and other Caribbean islands), family history, choirs, multi-cultural understanding & progressive political causes, crossword puzzles and volunteer work…always mindful of his blessings and grateful of being able to “give back,” that he learned as a child. Sunday nights for decades, also, found him and Janet engaged in a spirited game of Scrabble while “dining” on popcorn and their own hybrid milkshakes. He enjoyed being with family, especially Janet Virginia (Newton), his loving soul mate-spouse of 41 years, occasionally joking that Janet forever reminded him that he was still “on probation.” He had a passion for the out-of-doors, commenting on its being “good for the body and the mind.” As a long-time choir member at Church of the Good Shepherd (UCC) in Ann Arbor, he gratefully met her as the then new choir director in 1978, both of them having continued more recently as active choir members, both at the church and in the Willis Patterson Our Own Thing Chorale. He now sings in the baritone section of the heavenly choir, and saves seats for his choir friends.
His family: In 1966 he married Margaret Joanne “Jo” Hindal, and together they were blessed with two wonderful daughters, Tiffany Jo and Anna Lucille. Paul and Joanne went their separate ways in 1976. In 1980 Paul and Janet, a Chicago native, who survives, were married at the church, and they were blessed with daughter Cassie Jeanette, overheard now and then that “she had adopted them.” In addition to his best friend, dear Janet, he leaves behind to cherish his memory: those loving daughters who brought him great joy and pride: Tiffany Jo (Luke) Berman and grandchildren Benjamin Rubin (Ben) & Leah Mara of Rockville, Md.; Anna Lucille (Stuart) Masters and grandson Joseph Paul (Joey) of Birmingham, England; and from his marriage to Janet Virginia Newton: Cassie Jeanette Haynes (Emily Avener) of Elkins Park, Pa, and granddaughter Mahalia Ray Avener Haynes. Paul was preceded in death by his four siblings: Stanley Andrew Haynes of Grayslake, Ill.; Lucille Warren (Donald) Hazekamp of Mount Pleasant, Mich.; Alvin Lander Haynes of Nevada, Mo; and Alan Ray Haynes of Michigan Center, Mich.…and by nephew Kirk Haynes of Michigan Center, Mich. Also, left behind are dear sisters-in-law Betty (Bay) Haynes and Janice (Kirk) Haynes…and nieces/nephews: Mark (Jane) Haynes, Jana Hazekamp, Beth (Haynes) Pacheco, Tami (Haynes) Collins, Audrey Hazekamp and Brian (Lisa) Haynes.
His farewell: To honor Paul and at his request, donations – no flowers, please – may be made to the Memorial Fund at “Church of the Good Shepherd,” 2145 Independence Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-6438; to “Re-Member,” POB 5054, Pine Ridge, SD 57770, recognizing his and others’ ongoing work with the people of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation; the “African American Endowment Fund,” c/o Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, 301 N. Main, Suite 300, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1296; and/or the “Willis Patterson Our Own Thing Chorale,” at https://ourownthing.org/donate. Paul’s earthly pilgrimage has ended with his remains’ final home at the Washtenong Memorial Park & Mausoleum. A going-home celebrating Paul’s life will be held 21 August 2021 at 11:00 AM at Church of the Good Shepherd (UCC). You are invited to sign his guestbook at niefuneralhomes.com.
