Frank E. Hayes passed away peacefully in the early morning hours on Sunday, February 16, 2020. He battled pulmonary fibrosis and received a double lung transplant in July of 2018. The recovery process was an uphill battle and unfortunately, his body went into chronic rejection shortly before he passed. Many people would say that those fighting these types of illnesses are heros because of their courage, strength, and tenacity for life, but to us, he was even more than that. He was our superhero. A superhero protects others from harm, is an example to everyone around him, has unparalleled mental, emotional, and physical strength, and is a constant guiding light to do the right thing at all times no matter what. This was Frank, husband, dad, and Papa in a nutshell. It is unfathomable to think that the backbone of our family is now gone from this earth, but minute by minute we are wrapping our heads around the massive impact of his passing. Frank Edward Hayes was born on November 22, 1949 to Edward and Ethel Hayes. Frank was taught by his father what hard work, integrity, honesty, and dedication was and how to apply those qualities to living out life to the best of one's ability. To Frank, later in life, that meant providing for his wife and children a comfortable home, solid education, and a place of safety and security to return to whenever they needed for any reason. That place of security was him. As a husband, Frank was admirable for many reasons. Together, Frank and Becky were always playfully bickering, making jokes, and enjoying each other to the fullest even during the hardest of times. Frank or "Chuck" to his "Buddy," protected her fiercely. Because of his love and respect for her and as big and burly of a guy as he was, he would be the first to take a stand if anyone showed Becky any disrespect in the slightest. He never had to say the words, but everyone knew that Becky was his #1 and nothing could ever change that. Their marriage has been a wonderful example for over 45 years to those around them proving that being strong for each other can get you through any circumstances thrown your way unexpectedly or not. After several years of marriage, Frank and Becky had 3 children- Chris, Emily, and Brian. Frank taught them how to be hard working, honest, and dedicated to what they love just as his father had for him. They grew up with the best parents one could ask for in a home filled with love and the lessons learned because of their dad's daily example are lessons they will carry with them always. As a father, Frank ruled with an iron fist, but a forgiving heart. He always allowed his children to make their own choices even if he didn't agree so that they could learn on their own and gain their own life experience along the way, but was always there with a shoulder to lean on, wise words of advice, or an angry roar to scare the stupid right out of you if he thought you had to learn the hard way. He was incredibly proud of who his children had become as adults and even though mistakes were made along their paths, Frank was always there with open arms to listen, guide them, and again be the example we all respected and loved so greatly. As a family anchored by Papa, we all loved getting together for Nina's tacos or burgers to watch Duke basketball and Coach K on the big screen, cheer (sadly) for the Cleveland Browns, camp together in Mohican and the Outer Banks, listen to James Taylor on repeat for hours, or bird watch in the backyard bird sanctuary just enjoying the calm. We all frequently asked for advice on the simplest of things knowing that surely Frank would need to dissect and use his engineers brain to turn that simple thing into a big project we would say "he just had to tinker with" until he was satisfied with its long and drawn out results. Another one of our favorite things to do together was to cookout and have pool days in the summer. Frank would sit under an umbrella in swim trunks and a t-shirt in the pool with SPF 1000 covering him from head to toe with his big floppy fisherman's hat and enjoy just hanging out with his favorite people. The most fun was always joking around with him and listening to our very traditional, collared shirt wearing, upstanding husband and father, example of integrity laugh hysterically at one of Chris or Brian's inappropriate jokes or hearing him let an inappropriate joke of his own or a random cuss word slip out from nowhere causing us all to end up in hysterics, laughing uncontrollably for the rest of that day. These memories will be the ones that stay with us forever and mean so much. Each of us is blessed to walk through life with the gift of this loving family which he has provided to us ultimately being his goal from the get go. Papa was the best bear hugger around even though he never was overtly emotional. But as soon as he saw his little buddies they all knew that hugs were first on the list before hellos or anything else. For each of his grandkids from the oldest right down to the youngest, he loved supporting whatever extracurricular sport or activity they participated in and each grandchild has a special connection with him for different reasons. One of his grandsons has adopted Papa's love for any and all foods, v-neck tshirts that by the end of a meal ALWAYS have at least one stain on them, and his love of the old Jeep Willys. Another is tall like their Papa in a gene pool full of shorties with long finger-like toes that oddly enough look identical to his. Another of his grandsons has inherited his unmatched work ethic and extreme empathy towards those he loves. Additionally, each of his grandchildren have been genetically gifted the "Frank Hayes stubborn gene" and so have his children for that matter in all honesty. Truthfully though, we wouldn't trade these genes for the world because it's what makes us Hayeses after all, something we are proud to be and wouldn't give up for anything. We are going to miss him more than words can express and will be looking for all the ways we see him around us even though he is no longer physically here. As said in the beginning of this, he was our superhero. No husband or father could ever replace him. It's nearly impossible to say goodbye to a man we always thought was invincible, but here we are. Life just won't be the same without you, Papa. Thank you for being the leader of our crazy tribe, the stability in a sometimes very unstable world, the man we all looked up to and tried eagerly to make proud, and the person we all will carry with us through the rest of our trek through this journey we call life. We love you immensely and are beyond grateful that you have taught us all the life lessons we need to know to get through just about anything thrown in our path. We've got this because of you! Love you Chuck, Dad, Papa. Forever and always. "Well the sun is surely sinking down But the moon is slowly rising And this old world must still be spinning 'round And I still love you So close your eyes You can close your eyes, it's all right I don't know no love songs And I can't sing the blues anymore But I can sing this song And you can sing this song When I'm gone" - James Taylor (You Can Close Your Eyes) The family will receive friends at the Eggleston Meinert & Pavley Funeral Home, Oregon Chapel, 440 S. Coy Road on Thursday, February 20, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Funeral services will be conducted Friday, February 21, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. in the funeral home. Interment: Willow Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy may be directed to Life Connection of Ohio, Hospice of Northwest Ohio or the American Lung Association.