Robert G. Hayes, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Notre Dame, died July 7 at Dujarie House in Holy Cross Village. He was 74 years old. A native of Philadelphia, Haynes was graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and earned a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1962.
On Aug. 20, 1960, in Greenville, Pa., Hayes married Linda J. Shumaker, who survives.
He joined the faculty at Notre Dame in 1961 and spent his entire career at the University, except for a semester as a visiting professor at the University of California in 1971 and a year on leave at the Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron in Hamburg in 1975. His teaching and research primarily concerned the behavior of ionic states of molecules and the behavior of ions produced by double ionization of molecules and the reactions of negative molecular ions with surfaces.
Since his retirement in 2009, Hayes enjoyed following his grandchildren’s sporting and artistic activities, photography, hiking, bird watching and the study of languages.
In addition to his wife, Hayes is survived by two daughters, Amy Biggs of Zionsville, Ind.; and Sarah Hayes of Fort Wayne, Ind.; three sons, Kevin, of West Lafayette, Ind.; Brian, of Los Angeles; and Derek, of Granger, Ind; two sisters, Rozaine Sparacio of Snohomish, Wash.; and Kathleen Wilson of Gainesville, Va.; and one brother, Joseph, of Santa Fe, N.M.
Also surviving are his seven grandchildren, Andrew, Keegan, Hannah, Emily, Meghan, Jacob and Jarod. Contributions may be made to St. Peter’s United Church of Christ, 915 N. Ironwood Dr., South Bend, IN., 46615. Condolences may be sent to Linda Hayes, 1909 Peachtree Lane, South Bend, IN 46617.