Kerry Hayes, 54, passed away unexpectedly, and too soon on February 22, 2024. Kerry was born in Spokane, WA, to Don and Verla Hayes and spent his childhood in the small town of Plummer in Northern Idaho. He was the youngest of 5 children. Kerry spent his childhood playing football, baseball, and basketball but his true passion from the start was the outdoors. Don and Verla were always out on the boat fishing, so Kerry was predestined to become a fisherman from day one. Fishing also led Kerry to the world of hunting at a very young age. Once Kerry got his first BB gun, the rest was history. His younger years proceeded to be full of hunting & fishing trips, helping his dad in the woods, camping, gardening, swimming at the local lake and just about anything involving the outdoors.

Kerry left Northern Idaho in 1984, but kept in touch with his childhood friends and maintained those life-long relationships throughout the years. The family eventually moved to Anacortes, WA and Kerry was ready to start high school and the next chapter. He juggled playing football, baseball, and basketball while also working his tail off at home for his dad splitting wood, taking care of the farm animals, anything that required manual labor really. Kerry was an extremely hard worker and had unmatched attention to detail that he carried with him his entire life. Kerry graduated from Anacortes High School in 1988 and went on to marry his high school sweetheart, Martha Lyon, in 1989. Ryan was welcomed to the family in May 1991, Tyler in August, 1993, and Connor in October, 1996. Kerry loved his boys with all his heart(s), and then some; coaching and attending all their sports activities, taking them fishing, on camping trips, for bike rides and teaching them to hunt. They were warned, "If you shoot it, you eat it."

While the boys were growing up, Kerry supported his family working at the ScanAm salmon farm with his brother, Terry Hayes. He would often take the boys out to the fish farm overnight with him and show them how to saltwater fish, drive a boat and take a leak off the dock. It didn't take long for the fish farm work crew to become like an additional family to Kerry. Scuba diving to check salmon nets is what ultimately confirmed that Kerry's heart issues, which were known since birth, were going to largely impact his life from that point on. As a husband and father of very young children, he went through a Ross Procedure, at 28 years old, for an enlarged heart that was at the time experimental in nature. This was unfortunately the first of many open-heart surgeries that Kerry would face.

As their boys got older, Kerry and Martha ended up parting ways. He ended up getting a job out at the Shell Refinery (now the HF Sinclair Refinery) working as an operator and then later a trainer/team lead. There were many early mornings and late nights working overtime, but Kerry enjoyed riding his Harley out and back. He loved his '04 Dyna and was often seen wearing a skullcap and a leather vest. At work, and at home, he became known as a badass and one tough son of a gun. And of course, how the story goes – Kerry's colleagues out at the refinery quickly became some of his closest friends and an integral part of his life as well.

When Kerry was 43 he finally met the woman he had dreamed of, the one who instantly brought back the beautiful sparkle in his eyes that had been gone for a long time. They both knew right away that they were "each other's person." Kerry married Kristy Nelson on October 1, 2016. He also gained a daughter, Kortney, that day and those two shared a very sweet bond and she filled a void in the family that nobody knew was even there. Kerry's new extended family was instantly in his corner and he loved them very dearly.

His real heart problems were revealed in 2014. He had an ascending aneurysm that required an open-heart surgery to repair and replace his aortic valve. This was the beginning of a long, nearly 10-year battle and hard fight ahead. Kerry's heart function eventually got to a point that required aggressive action and, with his family by his side, he became the 25th ever recipient of a TAH (total artificial heart) at University of Washington. He and Kristy were told he would have it for "a couple weeks to a couple months." A long and complex 18 months later, a donor heart had finally become available. The daunting news that followed however was that it was a Hepatitis C positive donor, which the family was told could be cured through medication post-transplant. This would mark the first ever Hep C positive heart transplant in the Northwest – extremely rare and complicated. Kerry welcomed the challenge and beat the odds yet again. The family couldn't thank the UW Medical team enough for their incredible work, specifically Floor 5NE staff, Shauna Andrus, and Dr. Cheng.

With his new heart trying to keep up, Kerry and Kristy purchased a farm in Bow, WA, and Kerry found great joy improving the land and building habitats for chickens, ducks, pigs, goats, a miniature donkey, Kristy's horses, a passel of dogs, you name it. Kristy introduced Kerry to riding horses at their property and he ended up enjoying it so much that they actually got him his own horse. Kerry had become his father, taking on more than he could possibly handle. Kerry continued his passions of riding his Harley, hunting & fishing, music, never passing up a great deal, smoking meats at home, cooking and attending many concerts with Kristy. He was happiest gathering with family and friends on the farm for BBQs and any excuse for an occasion. During the summer of 2023 we celebrated Kerry's 5-year anniversary with his donor heart. It was a joyful but bittersweet surprise gathering that his lovely wife Kristy orchestrated, because he'd just been recently told that his body was starting to reject his heart. That celebration with his siblings, kids, wife, mom, family and friends present was exactly what his body and mind needed. Kerry deeply loved his people, "their tribe," and he went through a lot to be here with us as long as he was. The family is very grateful for everyone at Island Hospital Cardiac Rehab for their assistance, and HF Sinclair for their support and flexibility through everything. Kerry was one tough son of a gun and will be missed SO MUCH.

Kerry is survived by his wife, Kristy; sons, Ryan Hayes, Tyler (Kassy) Hayes, and Connor Hayes; stepdaughter, Kortney (Ryan) Hiatt; mother, Verla Hayes; brother, Terry Hayes, sisters, LaCinda (Gurn) Kelly, Kathy (Matt) Sheehan, Tina Sanders; grandson, Hudson James Hayes; numerous nieces and nephews, extended family and dear friends.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held March 9, 1:00pm, at the Terra Building, Marathon Refinery: 10200 March's Pt Rd, Anacortes.

To share memories of Kerry please fill out his online guest register at Evans and bookmark this direct link  for future return visits: www.evanschapel.com/obituary/kerry-hayes