William Henry Hayes III (Muscogee Creek) 78, of Pittsburgh, PA., passed away at his sister's home on Saturday, May 20, 2023. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA. The son of the late William Henry Hayes II, and Eleaner J. Sweeney.

Bill, as he was called, was one of the founding members of the Council of Three American Indian Center. In 1968 he and Jodi Simms saw a need for Pittsburgh to have an American Indian Center like other surrounding areas and thus initiated the process of seeking other American Indians in the area and along with other family and friends In 1969 the Center begin to evolve.

Bill was a behind the scenes person and spent his time as a Counselor working with the American Indian population seeking employment, job training and preserving the culture of American Indian people. Bill spent many tireless hours working at the center for over 50 years. He loved taking pictures, film making, attending pow-wows, collecting coins and antiques.

Bill enjoyed food and telling corny jokes. All those who walked in his path and was in need, Bill was there to help.

His greatest love was taking care of his mother (along with his other brothers/sisters) until her final days at home. He will be deeply missed by his son Brenden (Hayes) Hawkins, family, and friends.

Left to cherish his memory are his 6 siblings, Janet (Robert) Cralle, Annette (Ramesh) Bhambwani, the late brother-in-law-Jon Fastwolf, Daniel (Joy) Hayes, Michael (Lou) Hayes, Bernadette (Iftikhar) Ali, Pamela (Bill) Miller, the late brother-in-law-David Soeder; 5 nephews, 4 nieces, 5 great nephews and 1 great niece.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Bernard K. Hayes, in 2020.

Funeral Arrangements: will be held privately at Eloise B. Kyper Funeral Home and Mount Royal Cemetery, with a cremation to follow,

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in memory of William H. Hayes, III can be made to the Parkinson Foundation of Western Pennsylvania. Link below

https://pfwpa.salsalabs.org/donation/index.html