Von Devin Hatley

Von Devin Hatley, 63, passed away June 27, 2022 in Mobile, Alabama, after a long, courageous battle with cancer. His funeral service will be held Friday, July 1, 2022, at 2 p.m. at Radney Funeral Home in Mobile, Alabama. The family will receive friends from 12 p.m. until the service hour. His burial service will be at Magee Lawrence Creek Cemetery in Franklinton, Louisiana, on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, at 11 a.m., where he will lie in rest with his mother, Nola Irene (Taylor) Hatley and father Howard Arnold Hatley. Von is survived by his wife of 23 years, Rachael, their two sons, Oliver and Samuel, Von’s daughter Caitlin Brickel, husband Brian, a grandson Elijah James, and a granddaughter on the way. He is also survived by his nephew Jeremy, wife Lauren, their children Meredith, Sawyer, Amelia, and numerous close cousins and extended family.

Von was born January 9, 1959, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Growing up in south Louisiana in the 60s and 70s during a golden age of American music, he developed his love of music from an early age. When Von was nine, his mother got him his first piano. He attended high school in New Iberia, Louisiana, where he picked up a guitar as a teenager. From that moment on, he had a guitar (or several) close by him for the next 40 years. He sang in the chorus in college. Von connected with people in so many ways through music and food. He reveled in sharing his gift as a musician and his special talent as a singer with an audience. Von also developed a deep connection with the unique food, culture, and history of the region. He would carry this with him and share it with friends and family throughout his lifetime. Von loved to cook, and he was a good cook. He made great Cajun classics. He loved to make big pots of gumbo, oyster soup, and elaborate breakfasts with leftover seafood for his guests. Von welcomed conversation about the size and weight of blue crabs that season or a good crawfish étouffée recipe.

Von graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) with an emphasis in Production Management. After working for several years in Louisiana as a Safety Engineer and as VP of Operations in Saudi Arabia, Von earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Loyola University, graduating at the top of his class. For the next several decades, Von worked both in upper management and as an independent consultant for top manufacturing and production companies around the world. He honed his skills as a sought out advisor in areas of business management, project development and management, and economic development. He put his unique insight to use as the Cluster Director of Durable Goods and Manufacturing in the office of Louisiana Economic Development for the State of Louisiana between 2001-2012—serving under three governors. In 2012, Von became the Managing Director for Jones Walker Consulting. He envisioned and created a division within the firm, the first of its kind to offer site selection services within a corporate law office not tied to any single location but as a regional, national and international division.

Von was invited to become a member of the selective site selectors guild and continued to speak and publish sharing his insights on advanced manufacturing. His final project was as the site selector for Ochsner Health system new PPE (personal protection equipment) manufacturing facility in Broussard, Louisiana, which is close to where Von grew up. The plant created 2,200 new jobs in the region and meets a critical national demand for a reliable domestic source of PPE. It was full circle for Von—a poignant and proud moment. Von talked passionately about the impact created by his multiple projects over the years.

Nothing was more special to Von than the people he cared about, and experiencing all that life had to offer. Von did not experience living halfway. Wherever he was in life, he embraced that place and that moment fully. He enjoyed the simple experiences and moments in life, and he could turn regular moments into memorable ones, whether it was singing songs and playing guitar on the patio for friends, or boiling a big pot of crawfish and enjoying it with his family, friends or people he had just met. He loved sharing his love of life and experiences with others. He loved Mardi Gras, hosting gatherings, music festivals, and traveling the world.

Von traveled to 36 countries in his life which included multiple areas of Europe, Asia, North, South and Central America and Australia. Von kissed the blarney stone in Ireland, sang with musicians on the beaches of Bali and set up manufacturing plants in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands to name a few. One of Von’s favorite travel experiences was in England where he researched his ancestry to the villages of Cockayne Hatley and Hatley St. George in Cambridgeshire. He followed that with a visit to Hatley Castle in Victoria, British Columbia, to trace the Hatley's migration from England to Acadia to British Columbia. He enjoyed everywhere he traveled to but his all time favorite place was New Zealand and Bay of Kotor, Montenegro.

Von was a people person. He had numerous business associates and close friends from all walks of life and from all over the world. The most important people to him in the world were Rachael and his children, Caitlin, Oliver, and Samuel. Von and Rachael met in England while he was consulting for Rolls Royce Aerospace, and they lived in several cities in the U.S. before settling in New Orleans, where they lovingly restored and renovated a Victorian home in the Uptown District of the city. Their boys were born during the time they lived in the home. In 2011 they moved to Franklinton to develop 10 acres of family land and where Von’s extended family lived. Fully embracing country living, Von planned and created a country oasis for his family. He restored the pond his father had created back in the 60’s and added a small beach. He built a zip-line and trails for the boys to explore, and planted numerous fruit trees and a large vegetable garden. In 2015 the family moved to Mobile, where once again, Von and Rachael meticulously restored and renovated a historic, large house and made it their home.

Von also loved his friends and extended family. He remained close to friends from college throughout his life and often said they were like brothers to him. The ever generous and consummate host, when Von spent time with you, he wanted to make sure you were having a good time. He often went all out and spared no detail, always caring about your well being and how you were doing. As one friend said, “Von made you feel like you were the most important person in the room.” Von shared with great enthusiasm whatever it was that he was excited about or what he had newly discovered. He was an incredibly generous person that way. He shared whatever he had, but more profoundly, he was generous with himself. Von lived life to its fullest and shared openly and freely his energy, love, joy, spirit, and the verve he had for life.

Von will be remembered for his deep love for family and friends, his tenacity, his love for life, his fearlessness for change, his love of music, seafood, fishing, the New Orleans Saints, and buying just ‘one more ice chest, crawfish pot, and jazz fest chair 'just in case.’

Condolences may be offered at www.radneyfuneralhome-mobile.com.