BL Haynes

BL Haynes died peacefully in his home on Monday, August 7^th 2023 at the age of 95 surrounded by family. He was a longtime Aurora resident but had traveled extensively during his short stint in the Navy and later during his career with Chevron. He was born on November 27^th 1927 in Wichita Falls Texas, where he grew up modestly the son of a Post Office worker, Bonnie Louis Haynes Sr., and a Schoolteacher, Bobbie (Campbell) Haynes. As a boy he worked delivering prescriptions on his bike for 10 cents each, and later at a local fountain. He joined the Navy promptly upon his graduation from High School in 1945 at the age of 17, but the war ended soon after as the Atom Bomb was dropped while he was still in Boot Camp. As such, his time in the Navy was short, though he did travel the world in an LST supporting the movement of troops and people from China, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, and other places. He was honorably discharged at the age of 18, and went home to work in the oilfields. After several years as a roustabout, one of his bosses convinced him he should go to college. He went on to earn a Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering in 1955 from the University of Texas, promptly starting his career with Chevron thereafter. About the same time, he married Betty Bradley of Wichita Falls, having four boys over the next few years. His work moved him regularly back and forth from Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Saudi Arabia, Lafayette Louisiana, and finally back to Denver where he retired in 1987. In retirement he loved to bicycle and run his Golden Retrievers in the field bird hunting. He is survived by his sons Bill of Centennial and Bob of Lafayette Louisiana, and by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation to any of the many charities and organizations that BL generously gave to for so many years:

Guiding Eyes for the Blind

Cal Farley's Boys Ranch

Special Olympics

The Humane Society

The Nature Conservancy

Best Friends Animal Society

Paralyzed Veterans of America

National Rifle Association

Veterans of Foreign Wars

Dumb Friends League

Rocky Mountain PBS

Pheasants Forever

Shriners Hospital for Children

March of Dimes

American Red Cross

The Seeing Eye

National Jewish Health

St. Jude Research Hospital

Easter Seals

St. Josephs Indian School

Doctors Without Borders

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation

Wounded Warrior Project

Native American Rights Fund

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Christian Appalachian Project

St. Labre Indian School