Hayes, Morgan Blaine

Passed: 2011-12-22

Age: 43

Source: Jackson Herald

Death Notice:

Obituary Date: 2011-12-27

Information: Morgan Blaine Hayes died unexpectedly as a result of a motor vehicle accident on December 22 on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand.  He was 43 years old, born on June 30, 1968.  He graduated from Ripley High School, Ripley WV and soon after joined the United States Marine Corps where he served three years.  After returning from the service, he attended West Virginia University, graduated with a BA degree. He then went to Japan for three years to study both martial arts and the Japanese language.  He discovered Koh Samui during his time in Japan. He also attended Tulane University in New Orleans where he obtained his MBA in 1997.  In that same year he married Marcella Powell Hayes of Easton, Maryland.  They moved to Morgantown, West Virginia where he graduated from West Virginia University School of Law with honors in the field of contract law.  Upon graduation he was appointed a public defender in the West Virginia Criminal Justice system, serving in Charleston WV. In 2002 he was appointed a vice president of the United Bank in Wheeling WV where he served as supervisor of the trust investment department.  He then returned to Ripley where he entered the private practice of law and also served as a special public defender.  Having been an avid recreational sea diver, he left the practice of law in 2011 to pursue a dive master's certification on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand, with plans to continue on to diving instrucor certification.  He, his wife Marcella, and son, Mason, settled into life on the island and Mason attended the British International School of Samui.      Morgan is survived by his wife, Marcella Hayes and his son, Mason Hayes; his father, Eugene L. Hayes and his wife Jacquie of Dunedun, Florida; his mother, Judith Goodwin Waller and her husband, Robin Waller, of Ripley and East Lyme CT; his brother, Torren Hayes, his wife Nicole, and their children, Madyson and Kaiden, all of Ripley.  Memorial services will be held on the island of Koh Samui by the end of year.  A second memorial service will be held on Saturday, 2 p.m. January 7, 2012 at St. Johns Episcopal Church in Ripley WV.  Arrangements will be announced next Saturday, December 31, 2011 in the obituary section of this paper.