DOUGLAS FRANKLIN HAY
A fun-loving adventurer known to his family and many friends as “Dougie”, passed away at the age of 46 in California on Friday, March 27, 2015 from an undisclosed cause. Born on April 22, 1968, and formerly of Pawling, N.Y., he loved being a resident of Newport Beach, California.
He was the beloved son of Bernice Mulligan Hay and Jerry Hay, Pawling, New York, both deceased. An auto accident claimed his father’s life when Douglas was 5 months old. He was formerly married to Karen Szabo and is survived by close Aunts and Uncles: Linda and Bill Kypreos, Millbrook, N.Y., Bob and Sophie Mulligan, Yuma, Arizona, Paul and Peggy Mulligan, Cary, North Carolina, several cousins and many friends.
Douglas attended Pawling, N.Y. schools and is a graduate of Avon Old Farms, Avon, Ct., Clarkson University, Potsdam, N.Y. He later completed his Masters in Engineering at the University of California. He spent many engineering work years at Praxair, Ca.
Doug’s hobbies were many with ice hockey a strong preference in his younger years. From the time he was an infant he loved cars and eventually became more than fond of motorcycle racing, “I ride hard and don’t ever let up, I never stop fighting. Our team is really tough and some of the fastest guys on the west coast”. It was, however, his love for his dog Roxy Bear, a Nova Scotia Duck toller, “Great dog, everyone should have one” that was paramount in his life.
Following west coast cremation, A Memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at 10 a.m., St. John’s Evangelist Church in Pawling, N.Y., with burial following in St. John’s Catholic Cemetery. Donations in Doug’s memory may be made to an SPCA of your choice as well as the American Legion, Pawling, N.Y. or Newport Beach,Ca. Services are being handled by the Horn & Thomes Funeral Home, East Main Street, Pawling, N.Y.
In recent months Doug kept in loving touch with many of his east coast friends and shared his life on his boat “La Brujita”. With the sea lions barking often driving him to shore, he noted, “I do get to see some amazing sunrises and sunsets … I’ll probably write a book about my adventures one day, and it will be a best seller”.
