Roll Call Tribute

William Charles "Bill" Hayman 

June 18, 1952 - August 30, 2024 

William Charles “Bill” Hayman, 72, of College Station, passed away on Friday, August 30th, 2024 after an eight-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

Bill was born on June 18, 1952, to Claude Ray Hayman and Kathlyn Shannon “Kitty” Hayman in Fort Stockton, TX. Along with his parents, he was welcomed home by three older siblings, Jim, Claudia and Russell. Two more children completed their family after him, Buddy and Kathy. The family moved to Seguin, TX for a few years before settling back in Fort Stockton. He was an adventurous, and very independent child, spending sunup to sundown outside.

In high school, Bill played any sport that the coaches asked him to, but he was particularly fond of football and diving. His senior year of high school, he placed sixth at State in diving. One day after graduating from Fort Stockton High School, he left for boot camp in the United States Navy. He served honorably on the USS Saratoga as a flight deck Director and also assisted on helicopter rescue missions behind enemy lines.

Bill returned to the States in June of 1975. He and Mary Kay were married on July 26, 1975, in Fort Stockton. He completed an associate’s degree in Applied Science/Welding from Western Texas College in Snyder in 1978, graduating Magna Cum Laude. He also attended and completed Ferrier School in Sperry, Oklahoma. During the time they lived in Snyder, he was baptized into Christ. They moved back to Fort Stockton and welcomed two babies, Brandon Zane in 1980 and Kellie Erin in 1982. He started working at Clajon in operations, working his way up until he was advised that he needed to go back to school to progress. He came home one day and told Mary Kay, “I want to go back to college, and I want to be an Aggie.” They moved their little family of four 9 hours across the state for him to start his journey at Texas A&M in the summer of 1987 at age 35. He graduated with an Agricultural Systems Management degree in December of 1990.

The family briefly moved to Stratford, TX for a job, but it was not his cup of tea. In the summer of 1992, they moved to Uvalde, where he worked for Aquila Gas Pipeline, who had acquired Clajon. He was back to his oil & gas roots. Most of his work centered around Safety & Environmental and Codes & Compliance. In short, he was the guy that kept them out of hot water with OSHA and the Railroad Commission. His job took the family back to College Station in the summer of 1999, where they’ve been ever since. In 2002, Bill decided to go back to school once again, and at age 50 started his Masters in Industrial Distribution. During the two-year program, he and Kellie enjoyed being a part of the same department, he in the master’s program and she in the undergrad program. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2004. Bill and Mary Kay enjoyed going to many Aggie sporting events, but their heart was at Olsen Field watching Aggie Baseball as season ticket holders for the last 25 years. He narrowly avoided death in 2005 after serious heart issues. Our miracle of more time with him has been happening for the last 19 years. Between that and many chronic back issues, he endured so much. In January of 2015, he retired from what was now Energy Transfer after a 38-year career.

He and MK were able to travel to many exciting and faraway places over the last ten years. Their pride and joy though, were their two beautiful grandchildren, Jackson Cole and Hailey Reese. They never miss a game, school play, awards ceremony or tournament. In 2017, the family grew to include three more grandsons, Tyler, Drew and Matthew Binkley. Poppie loved taking the boys fishing and hunting and playing games with Hailey.

On January 19th, 2024, Bill was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. He was in the fight of his life. He fought valiantly and without a single complaint, through six grueling months of chemotherapy. He beat the odds, one appointment after another, until he just couldn’t do it anymore. The care he received from St Joseph Bryan, The Cancer Clinic, MD Anderson, and Traditions Hospice, was unmatched. They are all heroes in our eyes.

Bill was preceded in death by his father, Claude Hayman; mother, Kathlyn Hayman; brother Buddy Hayman. He is survived by his wife, Mary Kay Hayman; son, Brandon Hayman; daughter, Kellie Binkley; son in law, Tom Binkley; grandkids, Jackson, Hailey, Tyler, Drew and Matthew; brothers Jim Hayman (wife Bobbie), Russell Hayman, sisters Claudia Kellner (husband Milton) and Kathy Rochester (husband Kevin), as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation and celebration of life will be held at A&M Church of Christ in College Station, starting at 1:00pm on Friday, September 6th, internment immediately following at the Aggie Field of Honor & Memorial Cemetery in College Station.