Dennis Hays

Dennis Hays was born on March 1, 1943, in South Gate, California, to Bob and Arlene Hays. He enjoyed growing up in Southern California in the 1950s. As a boy, he enjoyed independent adventures like shooting rabbits in the fields near his house in Hawthorne. As a teenager, he played basketball and soaked in the California sun with friends and family. He met Clareen Carter while out cruising with friends. She thought he was cute. The feeling was mutual. Clareen was from neighboring Gardena and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He often said that joining the church and marrying Clareen changed the trajectory of his life for the better. They were sealed in the Los Angeles temple on September 10, 1964. He got serious about school, moved to Utah, and graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. After working a bit back in Southern California, he and Clareen moved to Davis, California, where he earned a law degree. He and Clareen also added a son, Derek. From there, Dennis took his little family to San Diego, where he worked as a Deputy District Attorney. While there, he and Clareen welcomed another son, Chad. Dennis shifted back to his accounting roots in 1978 with a job at Price Waterhouse in Los Angeles, where their daughter Courtney joined the family. The Hays family made their way north to Bakersfield in 1982 where Dennis worked for the Centre for Neuro Skills (CNS), a job he often called a blessing. Dennis and Clareen spent 39 years there before moving to Taylorsville, Utah, in 2021. Dennis collected friends from every era of his life—childhood, early marriage, college, graduate school, and all the places that he worked and lived. Always a lover of good food, he took great joy in meeting up with friends to enjoy a nice meal and reconnect. He took joy in a variety of activities over the years. He was a grill master, a craftsman, a top-notch fisherman, a camper and backpacker, a scuba diver, and a pilot. He loved watching good movies and his favorite TV shows. Always a fan of a good redemption story, he particularly loved Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables and Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Dennis traveled around the world to places like Europe, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, the Caribbean, Vietnam, Singapore, Israel, and India. He and Clareen served for 18 months in the Russia Moscow Mission, which gave them a chance to travel all over Eastern Europe helping lead a program that taught people financial self-reliance principles. During the last several years of her life, Clareen suffered from Alzheimer's. This gave Dennis the opportunity to develop domestic skills he didn’t know he had as he cared for Clareen and did everything he could to make her life comfortable and pleasant. She passed away in 2022 after 58 years of marriage. Dennis loved his family. He kept track of their birthdays each year, was happy to hear about their accomplishments and always rooted for their success. He loved spending time with his family at the beach. Whether it was camping at San Elijo, visiting Hawaii, or taking his kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids on an annual pilgrimage to Newport, these trips generated many cherished memories. Dennis had a generous heart and liked helping others. He often used his professional expertise to help friends and family with financial guidance. Throughout his adult life, he served in a variety of volunteer roles and capacities in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most recently, this included working every Friday in a local temple. His service to others brought him great joy. Dennis died on April 17, 2026, in Taylorsville, Utah, surrounded by loved ones. He was preceded in death by his wife and his parents. He is survived by his sisters Sandee (Wayne) and Jeanne (the late Patrick); his children Derek (Jennifer), Chad (Lisa), and Courtney; his grandchildren Dylan (Maggie), Maddie (Michael), Diana, Holly (Samson), Christopher, Sarah, Laura, Mark, Justin, Heber, Logan, and Declan; and his great-grandchildren Theo, Louis, and Gemma. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 25, at the meetinghouse Dennis attended, located at 3045 W. Bernina Drive, Taylorsville, UT 84118. A viewing will begin prior to the funeral at 9:30 a.m.. Information regarding the webcast of the funeral will be published shortly. Interment will take place at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes, California early next week. More information on interment will be published shortly.

Dennis Hays

March 1, 1943 - April 17, 2026