Howard L. Hayes, 55, passed away Tuesday, November 29, 2022 at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. Howard was born on June 27, 1967 to Dennis W. and Gretchen (Warmolts) Hayes in Rochelle, IL. He was an Eagle Scout with Troop 64 Steward, IL. He proudly served with the United States Army as a paratrooper with Special Forces. Howard then served with the Iowa National Guard as part of their Long Range Surveillance Detachment. He was a owner operator truck driver, known as "purple haze", for various companies over the years, most recently at Unimin in Oregon, IL. He was a member of the United Methodist Church in Dixon.

Howard enjoyed being part of the WWII Airborne Demonstrations Team out of Frederick, OK. It was his privilege to honor those that served in that capacity during WWII. He had a great uncle who made the actual jump in France and because of that he had been drawn to participating in the WWII demonstrations and made a memorable jump for operation Dragoon.

Howard restored many cars; his favorites were the three land rovers, the 88, 109 and 110, he restored. He loved to travel all over the world. He visited New Zealand, Australia, Cook Island, Hawaii, Germany, France, Italy and England. He also really enjoyed attending U2, Rush and Police concerts. Howard adored his cats and his salt water fish tanks.

Howard is survived by his father, Dennis (Lydia) Hayes of Dixon, IL; sister, Laurrel Hayes of Rochelle; nephew, Tylor (Jessica) Childers and three nieces: Natasha (Jonathan) Escobar, Olivia Childers, and Jesse Pagel; step sister, Melissa Goodrich of Rochelle; step brother, Jimmy Lowe of Oregon; and step nephew and niece: Josh and Kimberly Goodrich.

He was preceded in death by his mother, GretchenWarmolts and his step mother, Anna Hayes.

The visitation will be held from 10:00 - 10:50 A.M., Monday December 5, 2022 at the Unger-Horner Funeral Home, 400 N. 6th St., Rochelle. A Masonic Service will be held at 11:00 A.M., Monday with the funeral service, Pastor Dave Schweppe officiating, immediately following. Burial is at White Rock Cemetery in Kings, IL with military services provided by the Eastern Lee-Ogle Honor Guard. Memorials may be made in Howard's memory to a pet rescue of the donor's choice. Visit www.ungerhorner.com to sign the online guest book.