James "Jim" J. Hayes Iii

James “Jim” Joseph Hayes III, 62 of Machesney Park, passed away on Saturday, November 20, 2021.

Jim was born in Rockford, IL on March 6, 1959, son of James I. and Marjory (Henricks) Hayes. He married Karen (Sides) Hayes on August 13, 1994. Jim is survived by his wife, Karen; children, James D. Hayes IV, Corey, Brandon and Amanda Hayes; grandchildren, Olivia Marie and Nora Lynn; Underwood siblings, Dan (Gina) Underwood, Laura (Jeff) Hatfield, Terri Rohland, Ellen (Bear) Rogers and Penny (Scott) Smith; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins, especially nephews, C.J. Shepard and Nicholas Underwood; mother-in-law, Margaret Sides and brother-in-law, Brian Sides. He is predeceased by his parents; half-brother, John Tewell; half-sister, Melody (Anthony) Fasulo, brother, David Underwood; father-in-law, George Sides; nephew, Scottie Burris and parents, Dale and Patricia Underwood. Jim was blessed to have not only the love of his biological family, but also, the Underwood family that treated him as a member of their family all of his life.

Jim was a proud member of the Stateline Challengers and of the Academy of Model Aeronautics. He attended St. Patrick’s Grade School prior to attending Auburn High School and graduating in 1977. He lived all of his adult life in the Rockford area, and started his professional career straight out of high school at WA Whitney and at Ingersoll Milling Machine Co (where he met Karen). While at Ingersoll, he also helped salvage P&F Grinding. After Ingersoll, he worked for Ingenium Technologies and Greenlee Textron in Genoa. He left Textron to become a manager at Cherry Valley Tool, where they were manufacturing for Gunite Corp. Eventually, he became an official employee of Gunite Corp. where he worked as Manager of Manufacturing Engineering until he passed.

Jim had many hobbies including RC airplanes and drones. He often gave starter airplanes and radios to anyone with a child interested in learning the hobby. Jim was also passionate about playing with technology, including Raspberry Pi computers and 3D printers. When Covid broke out, he was contacted immediately to 3D print visor frames, and of course, he already had medical grade material and was ready to go. He loved almost everything with an engine. About a month ago, he wrote down 53 motorcycles that he could remember owning, starting out on mini bikes, that he rode with his buddies at a young age. Jim had a passion for cars that also started at a young age. He was buying, fixing, and flipping cars so fast as a 13-16 year-old, that he was forced to acquire a dealer’s license. He took Rookie of the Year at the Rockford Speedway in 1985. He was a muscle car man, which led to him owning a Duster, a Camaro, and two super-charged Challengers. He enjoyed snowmobiling with lots of family in the winter and running jet skis with them in the summer. Jim go-kart raced with his family at Sugar River. He and Karen pursued their pilot’s license and enjoyed ultralight airplanes. His life-time hobby was fishing. He took his family to local lakes and took them on family fishing vacations to the Canadian boundary waters. Every child (and Karen) learned fishing skills from him and loved fishing. Above all things, he loved his family and was there as a moral leader for each of his family members.

Visitation will be held on Friday, December 3, 2021 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, 1860 S. Mulford Rd. Rockford, IL 61108. A funeral service will be Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. with visitation from 12:00 p.m. until time of service also at the funeral home. Final resting place will be in Sunset Memorial Gardens, Machesney Park, IL.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation the C.A.S.T. for Kids, an organization that focuses on enriching the lives of children with special needs through fishing.  Additionally, the family is asking that you share any special memories you have of Jim by emailing to memoriesofjimhayes@gmail.com. The memories will live on to be shared with his children and grandchildren.

Those unable to attend services in person may join live via Zoom using Meeting ID: 890 4702 8460 and Passcode: 12345

Arrangements entrusted to Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory. Share online memories and condolences at www.fitzgeraldfh.com