Douglas J. Hayden

Widowed by his loving wife, Genene Hayden, he is survived through his daughter and son-in-law, Meghan and Brice Thrailkill-Hayden, and his son, Kyle Hayden. Along with his siblings and their spouses, Chris and Lynita Hayden, Brenda and Tim Williams, and Connie and Mark Lamanski, brothers-in-laws and sisters-in-laws, extended family, and countless ‘best friends’.

Putting Doug in one category of life is impossible. He was an athlete, husband and father, singer, hard worker, traveler, religious, record holder, and friend to all that came his way. From the age of 3 he started his highly awarded life as a swimmer and started competing for Hamilton Heights swim team as soon as he was old enough. From there he swam through high school for the YMCA Piranhas, singing in the Harmonaires, and graduated from North Kansas City High School Class of 1983. He then attended college at the University of Nebraska on a diving scholarship.

During his time at college, he met his future wife, Genene (now passed), in 1990. He then married her 3 years later in 1993, after proposing to her in the middle of one of his many triathlons he competed in. They had 2 children together, Meghan (now 27) and Kyle (now 25), both to which Doug was the stay-at-home-father for the first few years of their lives.

Once the kids started going to school, Doug returned to work wearing many different hats for many different companies including; creating a faith group through St. Charles Borromeo for which he won “The Bishop’s Award”, had a small business, sang in the church choir alongside Genene, and also started, coached, and swam for the US MOVY Masters Swim Team for the Gladstone Community Center until the year he passed. One of his constants through the years was the Kansas City Corporate Challenge, which he started competing in 1985, and was in any and every event they needed him to be in. He was particularly fond of the swimming, biking, and team races, and recruited countless participants for the rest. It was more than just competition for Doug; it was the unity it created for people. This hard work, dedication, and drive to create a better community is what brought him “The Alex George Award”, his dream job being created for him while working at SelectQuote as the Wellness Coordinator of the SelectQuote Cares Branch, and as the best SelectQuote Company Coordinator overseeing all participation in Corporate Challenge until he retired in 2021. Retirement didn’t stop him though, nor did the cancer he got diagnosed with 2 years later. He continued to compete and score points in Corporate Challenge for his teammates all the way up until he passed in 2025. During his retirement, he also completed his goal of going to all 50 states of America, lost track of how many Kansas concerts he went to after his 40th show, saw his son graduate college from Missouri University of Science and Technology, walked his daughter down the aisle this past May, and was able to celebrate his 60th birthday with over 300 people attending.

Doug was our shining star, he made everyone feel special, he never knew a stranger. We will miss his genuine laughter, his joyful enthusiasm, his bountiful compassion and most of all… his smile.

Honorary pallbearers include Brice Thrailkill-Hayden, David Hayden, Meghan Thrailkill-Hayden, and Kyle Hayden.