Richard Francis Haynes was born on January 8, 1946, and raised in James Store, Virginia, the eldest son of Francis Woodrow and Elsie German Haynes.
He graduated from Gloucester High School in 1964 and completed his B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife Management and graduate studies in Agronomy from Virginia Tech University. He served as a pathfinder with the 4th infantry division in Vietnam, earning numerous medals, including the Bronze Star for Heroism.
He spent his career as a turf grass specialist with emphasis in natural turf for sports tracks and stadiums, both collegiate and professional, and remained a consultant well after his retirement.
A true outdoorsman at heart, he loved fishing, camping, and spelunking, especially along the Piankatank River, Dragon Run, and in the Blue Ridge Mountains and wrote articles about these adventures for such publications as Virginia Wildlife. When out in the woods or on the water with Richard, you learned much, including all the Latin names of the flora and fauna you encountered.
He also enjoyed wildlife photography, was a gifted woodworker, and for many years held a private pilot’s license with a penchant for aerobatic flying and helicopters. He enjoyed cooking and baking when he had the notion and made a mean (and blue-ribbon winning) lime pie. He was a voracious reader of both history and American literature, with a particular love of Churchill and Steinbeck. Like them, he adored his dogs, preferring them to people and spoiling them rotten.
He is survived by his daughter, Julie, and grandsons, Adam, James, and Luke; brother, Michael; nephew, Richard Samuel; nieces, Christina and Samantha, many loved Townsend family members, and his beloved rescue pups, Gingi and Kaycee.
He was predeceased by his parents; brother, Benjamin Woodrow Haynes; son-in-law, Jeff Legg; his second wife, Dara, and his dogs, Tippi, Rollo, and Marple.
He passed away on February 15, 2026 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at Forrest General Hospital.
Those who wish may make a memorial tribute to The Least of These Animal Rescue in Ellisville, Mississippi, or the Vietnam Veterans of America.