Dr. Jon Laurence Hayes
Dr. Jon Laurence Hayes, age 72, of Richmond, Kentucky, passed away on April 14, 2024 at UK Albert B. Chandler Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, following a valiant battle with cancer.
Born on December 10, 1951, in Kirkland, Washington, Laurence was the son of Jeffrey Hayes and Lillian Kluckner Hayes. As a child, Laurence was both precocious and exceptionally curious about the world, qualities that served him well throughout his life. He spent his youth in Portland, Corvallis and Salem, Oregon, where he grew into a kind and studious young man. He attended Oregon College of Education, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology in 1975, and a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation with the Deaf in 1976. Laurence went on to obtain a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Arizona in 1990.
Laurence began his professional career as an instructor at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona in 1978, where he taught American Sign Language. He then served as Program Coordinator & Counselor for the Office of Special Services at the University of Arizona, and as Chair of the Interpreter Training Program at Pima Community College. In 1989, Laurence accepted a position as Program Director of the Interpreter Training Program at Eastern Kentucky University, where he was tasked with developing and promoting the ASL and Interpreter Education Program. Over the course of his thirty-year career at EKU, Laurence served as Associate Dean of the College of Education from 2015-2018, and as 504/ADA Coordinator and Chair of the Interpreter Training Program until his retirement in 2019.
Laurence was an unwavering advocate for the Deaf community, having served as an interpreter for more than four decades. He was certified by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. and by the Kentucky Board of Interpreters for the Deaf.
Laurence is survived by one brother, Craig Hayes, of Mammouth, Oregon, a nephew Jeffrey T. (Krystina) Haywell of Morris, Minnesota, a niece, Danielle C. (Brent) Sullivan of Milwaukie, Oregon, and his former spouse, Karen Dilka.
The last years of Laurence’s life were spent in constant companionship with his loving partner, Paula Bowman of Richmond, Kentucky. During their time together, Paula’s children, Brian (Michele) Bowman and Brooke (Chris) Mitchell, and grandchildren came to love Laurence, and adopted him as one of their own.