Richard (Dick) Hays, a longtime Broomfield resident and educator in the Broomfield schools, died peacefully at home on Dec 21, 2019. He was 86. Dick was born July 21, 1933 in Rawlins, Wyoming to Tyler and Edith Hays. After moving to Phoenix, AZ with his family, he graduated from North Phoenix High School and attended Arizona State University. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Music from Colorado A&M where he met his future wife, Shirley Ronnfeldt in 1954. They were married in 1956 at St Paul's Lutheran Church in Denver. Dick later completed his Master's Degree at Colorado State College in Greeley. Dick and Shirley spent the early years of their marriage at Platteville and Yuma, Colorado. In 1961 they moved with their growing family to the new town of Broomfield where he became the Music Teacher at Broomfield High School. He will be remembered for his many years teaching music at Broomfield Junior High and in the later years of his career at several other schools in the Boulder Valley School District. Dick's passion was teaching and passing on his love of music to his many students over the course of his 30 years in education. He was an active member of the Broomfield United Methodist Church where he served as the Director of Music for many years. Dick was active throughout his life with many Masonic organizations including Mosaic Lodge #184 of Eastlake; Temple Chapter #96, Unity Chapter #97 of Denver and Loyalty Chapter #145 of Westminster, Order of the Eastern Star; and The El Jebel Shrine of Denver. Music was a cornerstone of Dick's life and he enjoyed playing clarinet, oboe and saxophone with the El Jebel Shrine Band, El Jebel Dance Band and the Golden Eagle Band well into his 80's. He and Shirley loved traveling the country in their Winnebago RV visiting family, making new friends and exploring new places. In later years, Dick continued to travel the world with his children enjoying multiple cruises in Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada and Europe. Dick was preceded in death by his wife of 48 years, Shirley. He is survived by his sister, Jean Ehlers (Jack) of Prescott, AZ and his children, Rick Hays of Northglenn, Karen Anselmo of Broomfield, Janet Allen (Jim) of Magnolia, TX, Steve Hays of Denver and Marsha Prokuski (Curt) of Larkspur. He will be greatly missed by his 7 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. His kind hearted and caring spirit will be missed by his family and friends and the many students he touched as an educator in the Boulder Valley Schools. Services will be held at 10am on Saturday, Dec 28th at the Broomfield United Methodist Church, 545 W 10th Ave, Broomfield. Visitation on Friday Dec 27th from 4 to 7pm at Rundus Funeral Home, 1998 W 10th Ave, Broomfield. Contributions can be made to the Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Scholarship program.
Published in Broomfield Enterprise on Dec. 29, 2019