West Liberty, Iowa Richard E. Hayes, 46, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer on Monday, May 13, 2013 at his home in West Liberty. A memorial mass will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, May 17, 2013 at St. Joseph Church in West Liberty. Visitation will be held from 10:00-11:00 AM on Friday at church. Memorials may be made to Iowa City Hospice. Rich was born October 24, 1966 to Richard L and Juanita Mitchell Hayes in Boone, Iowa. He graduated from Boone Jr. - Sr. High in 1985. He also earned his PhD in Psychology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2007, after many years of studying off and on. Richard was united in marriage to Traci J. Morrison on July 20, 1991 in Boone, Iowa. He often referred to her as his angel sent from heaven and always said his greatest accomplishment were his children. Rich led a very active and interesting life, even after his grim diagnosis. From car racing to operating scale and full-size steam locomotives, he tried to do whatever he thought would be fun. Rich was an avid biker who hated to drive a car because his Harley-Davidson allowed him to enjoy being in the wind, even in Iowa's well-known inclement weather. His friends all called him Bear, as did the people he helped whenever he volunteered with those less fortunate than him. He enjoyed his volunteer work most of all whenever it involved the children on the University of Iowa Children's Cancer Ward. One child especially touched his heart. So much so that when the boy was close to passing away and Rich found out the family didn't have the money to give him even a simple memorial service, he decided to sell his motorcycle and donate all the funds to the family for the memorial service and to allow the family to finally get housing. Richard also enjoyed riding his Harley, being around his "adopted" grandchildren, watching the Chicago Cubs, NASCAR, both professional and Iowa Hawkeye football and basketball, and just being with his family. He is survived by his wife, Traci of West Liberty, his children Carrie (Tiffany) Overturf of North Liberty and her siblings Chasiti and Troy Halvorsen of North Liberty, Ashlie (Travis) Beltz of Cedar Rapids and Ty Hayes of West Liberty. Rich and Traci also had an extended family of children and grandchildren, including Josh Roszell of West Liberty, Cathy Lambert and her daughter Alexis Blakey, and Brenna Prosser and her children Mikkayla and Makennah Prosser. He is also survived by his father Richard L. Hayes of Boone, Iowa and his best friend Bill (Kris) Dawkins of North Liberty. He was preceded in death by his mother Juanita.