Derryl Houston Haymon

Derryl Houston Haymon died peacefully at his home in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, July 6, 2011, surrounded by family and close friends who loved him dearly. He was 96. Derryl was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 69 years, Helen Gold Haymon, who passed away in 2010. Derryl treasured her memory every day for the remainder of his life. Derryl is survived by two daughters, Diane H. Marks, of Houston, and Rachel M. Haymon and her husband, Ken C. Macdonald, of Santa Barbara, Calif.; and three sons, Martin B. Haymon, R. Brian Haymon and his wife, Barbara, and Cordell H. Haymon and his wife, Ava, all of Baton Rouge. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Sarah and Eli Haymon, Carroll and Houston Haymon, Matthew Greenwood, and Josh and Asher Marks; five great-grandchildren, Lilli and Kameron Greenwood, Olivia Liu, and Clara and Emilia Haymon; two sisters, Evilee H. Duszynski, and Ellavay H. Carpenter; numerous nieces and nephews; and a goddaughter, Linda Edwards of Ocate, N.M. He was predeceased by three brothers, Densyl, Elmer and Odis Haymon; and by two sisters, Ellouise H. McMichael and Evelyn H. Wolsefer. Derryl Haymon was a truly remarkable man, a force of nature who aided and inspired countless people through his great strength of purpose, vision, love and commitment to others, generosity, and joie de vivre. His life story is a quintessential American experience of rising from humble beginnings near the start of the 20th century to become a successful businessman who gave much to his family, friends, community and country. Derryl was born May 26, 1915, in a cabin on the Haymon family homestead near Leesville. He was the oldest of eight children born to Sam Houston Haymon and Maude Davis Haymon. His parents depended on him from an early age to look out for his siblings, and to help the family survive severe economic hardship. Derryl graduated from Central High School near Baton Rouge and attended LSU, where he met Helen Gold, the great love of his life, in his colorful words, "100 pounds of Gold." Faced with the lean times of the Great Depression, Derryl left college to work and support his parents and siblings. He was hired to work at Standard Oil, now ExxonMobil, as a deckhand and tankerman on their Mississippi riverboats. In time, he rose through the ranks to become a supervisor of dock operations, blending and oil movements at the Baton Rouge refinery. Derryl's career was interrupted by World War II. He enlisted in the Coast Guard and served 37 months in the war in the Pacific. During this time, he studied in Navy pharmacy school in New York City, and became a petty officer with the rating of pharmacy mate first class. Later he was selected through competitive tests to attend officer's training at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., and was a cadet there when the war ended. This was where Derryl met Bob Horsley, who was a great friend until Derryl's dying day. After the war, Derryl returned to work at Standard Oil until he retired in 1970 with 33 years service. In 1952, he founded a company called Petroleum Service Corp. to provide licensed tankermen to load and unload barges. It was a small business at first, but as Derryl's sons matured and joined the business, it grew into a substantial company, operating dock facilities and performing the product-handling function for industries in several states. The company was sold in 2004 to SGS, a global firm based in Geneva, Switzerland. Cordell and Brian Haymon have continued to work with PSC, which has more than 1,500 employees. The success of this business and the opportunity to work closely with his sons was a source of great satisfaction to Derryl. Each year, PSC presents the D.H. Haymon Award to its most outstanding employees who demonstrate the qualities of Derryl Haymon that have made the company successful: dedication, hard work, leadership and a concern for others. Derryl's concern and sense of responsibility for others motivated him throughout his life to assist members of his family, his friends and employees, and many more to make their way in the world and achieve their aspirations. His and Helen's shared ethic of generous assistance will be long remembered and will pay forward to many people in the future. They set a tremendous example to those around them of how to make the world a better place. Derryl loved the outdoors and was a master hunter and fisherman. He and Helen especially loved to spend time together with family and friends at their Toledo Bend home. Derryl was a sports fan and a loyal LSU alum. His and Helen's support of LSU included the creation of endowed professorships and scholarships at the LSU School of Music, gifts to the LSU College of Engineering and generous donations to the LSU Alumni Association. Derryl was inducted into the LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction. The LSU Alumni Association gave Derryl and Helen the prestigious Purple and Gold Award in recognition of their generous support. The family is grateful beyond words to all the wonderful caregivers who cared gently and lovingly for Helen and Derryl. In particular, the family would like to express their deep appreciation for the great dedication of Donna Bailey, Tiffany Mitchell, Lynette McDempsey, Deborah Curry, Deborah Sprague, Gabe Poche, Terry Sanders and especially Judy Miller. Derryl's visitation will be at Greenoaks Funeral Home, 9595 Florida Blvd., Saturday, July 9, from 10 a.m. until funeral at noon. Interment to follow in Greenoaks Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Helen Gold and Derryl Haymon Scholarship Fund in the LSU School of Music, through the LSU Foundation, 3838 W. Lakeshore Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808.