Gary Alan Hayes of Youngstown, Ohio, formerly of Luthersburg, Pennsylvania, passed away at age 71 on Thursday, October 1, 2026, following a long journey with a rare degenerative neurological disease. Throughout his illness, he found comfort and strength in the hope laid out in the Bible, a hope that had been central to his life and faith.
Born to Charles and Janette Hayes, Gary spent most of his life on the Hayes family farm in Luthersburg. He graduated from Jeff Tech and went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Penn State DuBois. He retired from a long career at Brockway Glass / Owens Illinois.
Gary was a lifelong member of Jehovah's Witnesses, and his faith and volunteer ministry was at the center of his life. Gary also had a long-time passion for running, completing the New York City Marathon, among others. He enjoyed reading about history, researching Bible history, exploring his family's genealogy and going to baseball games with his family. He recently celebrated 50 years of marriage to his beloved wife, Mary(Yakich).
In addition to his wife, Gary is survived by his daughter Christina Hayes of Pittsburgh PA; his son Garrett (Mandie) Hayes of Boardman OH; and his siblings Jeff (Ravenna) Hayes of Atascadero CA and Cindy (Jim) Quici of State College PA.
A memorial talk will be held on Sunday October 11 at 4 pm at the Holiday Inn in Boardman, OH , with a Zoom option available; please text or call (330) 299-9119 for the Zoom information. A private burial will follow at Luthersburg Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the local congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses or to the CurePSP Foundation at curepsp.org.
The Baronick Funeral Home & Crematorium, Inc is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences can be made to www.baronickfuneralhome.com.
