Danny Hales

Danny Emmitt Hales, 83, passed away at his home on October 7, 2021, surrounded by his loving family. He was born on December 25, 1937, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Emmitt and Carmelita Hales.

Danny spent his childhood and much of his adult life in and around Corpus Christi, Texas, where he graduated from Miller High School in 1957. Before graduating, he was known among friends to be the first to get a really cool car. He would take friends to cruise almost nightly from Pick’s to Mac’s drive-ins and up and down Chaparral, the main drag in Corpus Christi at the time. They were, as his close friend Michael James Lucas said, “American Graffiti before there was an American Graffiti.”

He also started dating his wife of fifty-nine years, Kaye Fischer in high school. They would go country-western dancing out at the Alice VFW and go out with friends on the town in Corpus. They dated for eighteen months before they married in 1962, when they began their long life of love and adventure together. They had their son, Troy, only a few years later, in July 1966.

For work, Danny was the jack-of-all-trades of the oil and gas business. He worked in positions like draftsman, pipe-fitter, and operator before he was promoted to Oil Turnaround Planner for Hess Oil. In 1970, Danny was offered a job as the Regional Manager for Caribbean Operations with CBI chemical division, which he and Kaye decided Danny should take. So, in November that year, they packed their bags and moved to St. Croix, where they spent four years dancing, fishing, and living like the locals. After that, they moved with a new company, BFI, to Puerto Rico for around four years and did it all over again.

While their adventures (and Danny’s work) took them all over the world, Danny and Kaye made their home in Portland, Texas, where they returned from the islands in 1980. Danny began working for Carber as Texas Regional Manager when they returned. They continued exploring the nearby waters with friends and family on one of their many boats over the years, and they loved to go deep-sea fishing and sailing with their son, Troy. After their fishing trips, Danny made many memories with Troy and the grandchildren in the front yard of their home filleting fish for Kaye to cook and for everyone to enjoy.

Danny retired from full-time employment in 2013, but that did not stop him for a minute. He continued his lifelong pastimes of painting, drawing, and sculpting—passions he passed along to his equally talented grandchildren, Cassie and Hailey. Danny also loved helping his son, Troy, tinker with motorcycles and fast cars, while he encouraged his grandson T.J. to pursue his dream of writing for a living. Danny and Kaye took a beautiful two-week trip to the Mediterranean in 2013, to Rome, Greece, and Italy, but he always loved visiting the family land in Lampasas most of all.

Danny will be remembered fondly by his family and friends for his fun, enthusiastic, spontaneous, and charismatic attitude, and for his sharp dressing. He loved to learn from and listen to others,

and he was a shrewd observer. He was also a genuine family-man: a devoted husband to his wife, a best friend and father to his son, and a loving grandpa to his three grandchildren. He taught them all to live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Emmitt and Carmelita Hales, and his siblings, Dwight Hales, Cecil Wilcox, and Beverly Jo Holder.

He leaves behind to cherish his memories his wife, Kaye Hales; his son (and best friend), Troy Hales (Shawna); his grandchildren, T.J., Cassie, and Hailey Hales; his very special brother-in-law, Charles Fischer and his very special nephew Billy Holder (Shawn); his brother- and sister-in-law Ernest and Cindy Fischer; and his nieces and nephews, Marci Martinez (Chris), Brenda Ebner, Boydeen Wilcox Albrecht, Sydney Holder Rogers (Christopher), Morgan Harrison (Cole), Misty and Kea Hales, and Tricia and Trey Fischer (Natalie); and many close colleagues, friends, and acquaintances.

Funeral Service will begin at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, October 23, 2021, at Charlie Marshall Funeral Home in Aransas Pass.

“So if you’ve died and crossed the stream before us,

We pray that angels met you on the shore;

And you’ll look down, and gently you’ll implore us

To live so we may see your smiling face once more,

Once more.”