Volney Earl Hayes Jr.

Volney E. Hayes, Jr. passed away on Friday, September 30, 2022 in Boston, after an unexpected diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He was born February 10, 1947 in Mobile, and grew up in the Springhill area of Mobile. He was in the first class to attend St. Ignatius – attending from Kindergarten through 8th grade, and during which time he served as an altar boy at the Springhill College chapel from 4th – 8th grade. Volney graduated high school from the McGill Institute in 1965, and then Auburn University in 1969. While studying at Auburn, Volney was a member of the naval ROTC, which led him to being commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserve upon graduation. He was assigned to the naval air station at Pensacola for flight training. Due to a reduction in force, he was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1970.

Volney immediately applied for a position as a Special Agent with the FBI, and received an appointment to start new agent training in Washington D.C. in November of 1970. Volney’s first assignment was in San Francisco (J. Edgar Hoover was still director at that time). He was then, as a probationary agent, assigned to the FBI San Diego office, before relocating and working in the New Orleans office from 1973 – 1995. In 1995, he was assigned to the FBI office in his hometown of Mobile. For the majority of Volney’s career, he worked in foreign counterintelligence and domestic terrorism matters, changing to violent crime matters when he was assigned to Mobile. Throughout his career, he had numerous ancillary duties: Volney was the media coordinator (FBI spokesperson), the EAP (Employee’s Assistance Program) manager, managed the crimes against children program, supervised Mobile’s Evidence Response team, and spent several weeks in New York after 9/11 responding to the terrorist attacks on the city.

Memorable cases in Volney’s career include the 1976 voting fraud case which resulted in Bob Livingston’s being elected to Congress and eventually becoming Speaker of the House. He was the case agent on a neutrality matter where a right-wing extremist group was trying to overthrow the government of a small West Indies island – resulting in many convictions. He was also the case agent on a case involving the plan to assassinate an Indian Sikh official who was in New Orleans for medical surgery. During his career in Mobile, Volney was the case agent in several high-profile crimes against children matters, one of which resulted in a life sentence for the perpetrator. His last duties involved coordinating the Mobile office’s joint terrorism task force. All of these matters were in coordination with and supported by other local, state, and federal agencies. In Volney’s opinion, they did the majority of the work and he got to take the bow. Volney retired from the FBI in 2004, after an impressive 35 year career.

In retirement, he enjoyed relaxing. He worked for Baldwin County Mental Health (Project Rebound), subsequent to Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina, as well as the BP oil spill as a field counselor supporting victims of these disasters, utilizing his skills learned in the FBI.

Volney was the son of Rosemary O’Connor Hayes and Volney Hayes Sr. He was the beloved husband of Bruce Ann Ducote Hayes; father of Laura Hayes Keller (Kevin) and Ellen Hayes Caillouet (Damon Morse); grandfather of Jordan Hurst, Brandon Hudson, Jude Caillouet, and Julian Morse; step-father of Jeffrey Ducote and James Ducote (Lacey); brother to Barbara Hayes Brown; uncle of Bill Alexander (Lisa); great-uncle to Kaitlin Alexander; and was a cherished friend to many.

Visitation for Volney will be held on Saturday, October 22, 2022 from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at Pine Crest Funeral Home on Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile, with a funeral service immediately following. Inurnment will be in Pine Crest Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the American Cancer Society, St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Fairhope, or Hospitality Homes (P.O. Box 15265, Boston, MA 02215) – the last of which was very instrumental in assistance for Ms. Hayes while Volney was hospitalized in Boston.