Beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather

Hal Haynes was born April 21, 1933 on a farm in rural North Carolina and died peacefully, without pain, at home in Claremont at the age of 89 on July 18, 2022. The cause of death was heart failure. He was the youngest of seven siblings, who all preceded him in death.

He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Haynes, and would have been married 65 years on August 24. He is also survived by his children, Kathy Haynes Phelps and her husband Reed Phelps, of Claremont; their children Nicholas (Toni), of Walpole, Massachusetts, and their daughters Florence and Ingrid; Oliver, of Claremont, and his daughter, Ava; Cameron (Amy), of Austin; Elizabeth Phelps (and her fiancé John Clary), of Washington, D.C.; Janice Haynes, of Upland; and Russell Haynes (Lauren), of Rancho Cucamonga, and their children, Dylan and Trevor. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews.

Hal served his country for four years right out of high school in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean conflict, which he called “the forgotten war.” Upon discharge in California, he lived with one of his brothers in San Fernando where he met his wife-to-be. While residing in San Fernando, he worked on the assembly line at General Motors and for the U.S. Post Office. After marriage he worked for Pinkerton Detective Agency and together with his family lived in Valinda for about five years. In 1970 the family moved to Claremont, where his children and grandchildren were raised, and now his 9-year-old great-granddaughter is being raised.

He owned a fraud investigation business for more than 40 years and retired at 62 years of age.

In retirement, he volunteered for the Joslyn Senior Center, phoning weekly shut-ins who lived alone. He also volunteered for First United Methodist Church of Upland, serving on its outreach committee for several years.

He loved his family, especially his children, grandchildren and great-granddaughters. He was fortunate to be able to spend so much time with his grandchildren picking them up at school and watching them since he retired at such an early age.

He traveled nationally and internationally with his friends, his wife, children, and grandchildren, to locales such as Alaska, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Kenya and Tanzania, Africa; Austria,  Oberammegau, Germany; Spain, Italy, France, Amsterdam for the tulips, Belgium, Russia, the British Isles, and Egypt to name a few, as well as several cross-country trips to visit relatives and friends.

He enjoyed many parties for anniversaries, his birthdays, Halloween costume gatherings, and New Year’s Eve. He loved to dance. He also enjoyed playing the slots locally, in Palm Springs, and Las Vegas.

“Hal had a unique sense of humor and everyone loved him,” his family shared. “He enjoyed playing the harmonica and ‘picking’ at the guitar. He loved gardening especially his beautiful rose garden of which he was so proud. He also was a great horseshoe player. On occasion he would write a few lines of poetry and could draw very well.”

He was a lover of pets and over the years had numerous cats and dogs, a duck, a white rat, rabbits, and a horse he shared with his daughter Kathy.

“He lived a very full life and was blessed,” his family added. “He will be dearly missed by his family and his numerous friends.”

Services will take place Saturday, April 22, 2023.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Priceless Pets at pricelesspetrescue.org/donate, or the Inland Valley Humane Society & S.P.C.A. at ivhsspca.org.