John Olin Hayden, born December 18, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, died peacefully with family by his side on Saturday, September 8, 2018. The cause of death was related to West Nile virus.

John, lovingly known as “John-O”, graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a degree in English Literature. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. at Columbia University, also in English Literature. He served four years in Germany with the United States Air Force.

Professor Emeritus Hayden was a member of the English Department at the University of California, Davis from 1965 to 1994.  He was a prominent scholar of William Wordsworth and the recipient of several national grants among them the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Council of Learned Societies awards. He spent several sabbaticals in England, working at the British Museum, Cambridge, and Grasmere, Wordsworth’s home. Of the ten books he authored and edited, he was most proud of The Romantic Reviewers, 1802-1824, University of Chicago Press; William Wordsworth, The Poems, Volume One and Two, Yale University Press; and William Wordsworth and the Mind of Man: The Poet as Thinker.  He took great pleasure in teaching and mentoring countless students.

In retirement, John enjoyed wine making, traveling extensively, writing a novel, and spending as much time as possible with his family.  One of his greatest joys was time spent at his home out in the country where he would tend to his vineyard and entertain family and friends. John will be forever remembered for his quick wit, laughter, and appreciation of the simple things in life including good food, wine, and family.  He was a man of strong religious beliefs.

John is survived by his devoted wife, Mary Hayden, children, Michael (Sandra), Jack (Serene), Mark (Dana), and Ann (George) and his twelve grandchildren, Elle, Beck, Alex, Eli, Zela, Rudy, Walker, Finn, Julien, Ellis, Leo, and Alexander. He was preceded in death by his mother, Norah Bussens Hayden; father, John Ellsworth Hayden; stepfather, Ray Hegewald; and sisters, Patricia Ann Baldwin and Norah Helene Hayden.

The funeral will be held at St. James Church on Friday, September 14, 10:30 am.  In lieu of flowers, the family suggests planting a tree in his honor.