William "Bill" Hayward

William Bernard Hayward, 80, passed away on October 15th in Hendersonville Hospital.  Bill was born on March 16, 1942, in New York, NY to Susan Vanderheyden and William Hayward, Sr.  He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Susanna Knight Hayward and his son, Duane Exton Hayward (Lisa), two grandsons, Joshua William Hayward and Seth David Hayward and numerous cousins, nephews, and nieces throughout the country with whom he remained close.  He attended PS-7 and DeWitt Clinton High School in Bronx, NY.  He graduated in 1963 from Marietta College, Marietta, OH where he was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity.

Upon graduation, Bill joined the Peace Corps and served from 1963 to 1965 in Nyasaland (now Malawi) as a school teacher.  In 1966 he volunteered for the army and was commissioned a Lt. (Infantry) after OCS at Ft. Benning, Georgia.  He volunteered for service in Vietnam and served as a mechanized platoon leader with 2/22nd Infantry, 25th Division and later as company commander of D/52nd Infantry.  He was a Captain at the time of his last assignment at the US Infantry Board in Ft. Benning, Ga.  Among multiple honors, he was awarded the Purple Heart.

Following his discharge, Bill worked for the Veterans Administration as Admin. Division Chief in Columbia, SC and Ft. Snelling, MN.  He is a past State Commander of the Disabled American Veterans and was commissioned an honorary Lt. Colonel by then Gov. Jimmy Carter in recognition of his service to disabled veterans. In 1978 he moved to Tennessee to work as Administrative Manager for Service Merchandise and later in the same capacity with Nissan Motor Corporation in Smyrna.  He was active in community organizations serving as Board Chair of the Nashville Chapter of the American Diabetes Assn., Board Chairman of the Nashville Urban League and founding Board Chairman of the Combined Health Appeal.  He was employed as Business Manager for Harpeth Hall Schools as well as teaching economics for eight years before retiring in 1999.

Bill loved family, friends, gardening, travel and spending his summers as a youth with family in Windham, NY. He was a life-long member of the United Methodist Church which he attended in Hermitage, Forrest Hills and Hendersonville.  He taught adult Sunday School for many years and was a member of the Poe Williams class at Hendersonville.  His chocolate chip cookies are practically famous and his jams and chutneys earned awards at the Tennessee State Fair.  In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Children Are People (CAP) in Gallatin, Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Hendersonville First United Methodist Church or a charity of your choice.

A Celebration of Life for Bill will be held at 2pm on the afternoon of Saturday, October 22, 2022 at Hendersonville First United Methodist Church with Pastor Don Hutchinson officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the start of service. Interment with Military Honors will be held at 10am on the morning of Monday, October 24, 2022 at Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery in Nashville, TN.