Dale

Dale Baynes was born in 1946. He passed away December 12, 2018. He was born in North Carolina to Evelyn Hayworth and Howard Baynes.

Dale attended the University of Kentucky before the draft in 1966. He was in the United States Army from 1966-1968. He worked in Paducah, Kentucky then moved to Marion, Illinois. He worked at Sears, the Cognitive Work Therapy Program at the VA, and from there he began a career as a Peer Support on May 22, 2013.

Dale retired from the Marion VA as a Peer Support in May 2018. He served for five years at the VA.

Dale loved cooking. He loved to share jokes and memes in group and with  colleagues. He was a very sharp dresser, he loved to dress up and even had a few people at the VA thinking he worked as a doctor. He was proud of his time in the military and proud of his time at the University of Kentucky.

Recently, Dale became the owner of a 7 series BMW, a car he always wanted and loved to show off to people. Sam recalled that when he got the car he was like a kid with a new toy, happy, proud, and excited. Dale will be missed more than he ever knew, he never realized the impact he made on his colleagues and the Veterans he worked with in various groups and encounters.

Dale was a colleague of my husband, Sam. Dale was a great guy. He spent several holidays in our home and with our family due to the fact that all of his family members were no longer here. Dale spent two Thanksgivings and two Easters with us, always bringing some type of dessert wine with to enjoy after the meal. He was always engaged in conversation, and loved to talk about the Kentucky Wildcats.

Dale loved Sam. I say this because although there was quite an age gap between them as co-workers and friends, he genuinely cared for Sam (and our family). The same goes for Sam. I will miss hearing stories of what Dale said or what Dale had for a joke or meme. When they facilitated groups together, they often had lunch together. Sometimes they would meet up with other colleagues who were retired. These are moments that I know Sam, Mike, and Paul will cherish.

Dale was a fighter. He advocated for Veterans. He cared for the Veterans he worked with and the ones who were on his caseload. He enjoyed groups and often shared his jokes and memes with them (as well as Sam).

Sam was his cubby/cubicle buddy. They often updated one another on sports, weather, and news in general. Dale loved to tease Sam about liking UK and often told us about restaurants or places to go when we visited Lexington. In fact, on our last trip, Dale loved the photos we shared on Facebook, was excited we were able to stay and listen to Coach Cal’s post-game show and hoped that we did not get lost in a sea of Blue. He loved UK basketball.

Dale was one of Sam’s colleagues, yet I saw him as a battle buddy. He was incredibly supportive and proud of Sam for applying to This Able Veteran and going through the three-week trauma resiliency program. He loved Memphis. He was one of our friends who attended the graduation to see Sam and Memphis officially become best friends. I like to think that Memphis loved Dale too.

Last week, Sam was notified by a nurse that Dale was hospitalized. In just a few short days, Dale put up a heck of a fight. He was moved from Heartland to the VA where he will receive a Heroes Homecoming at the Community Living Center. How fitting for someone who loved Veterans, his country, and his friends.

Please keep Sam, his colleagues, and Veterans in his groups (that knew Dale) in your thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes. These past few days have been incredibly rough, and the next few days, weeks, months, will be even tougher. We are all better for knowing Dale, and I hope he knew how much he was loved and appreciated.