Joseph Patrick Hayes
May 1, 1937 ~ February 10, 2019
Joseph P. Hayes
Senior Central Intelligence Agency Officer
Joseph P. Hayes, who spent nearly thirty five years as a clandestine services officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, and who was later associated with Booz Allen Hamilton, died on February 10th, 2019 in Fairfax, Virginia.
Joe loved this country and the promises of this country; he was a great patriot with an immense passion for the mission and an equally deep compassion for those who carry it out. He believed in the enduring idea of liberty and freedom, that Communism and the USSR were the clear and direct threat of his age and was gratified to have seen the fall of The Berlin Wall; a piece of which was a treasured possession.
Joe’s principal interests in the Intelligence world included the relationship between technology and human intelligence; the challenge of fostering, nurturing and embracing creativity and innovation in high-security intelligence enterprises; and realizing the potential of multinational intelligence and security partnerships against problems of common concern.
Over the course of his career, Joe served in seven foreign locations in Central and Eastern Europe and the Far East in positions ranging from classical espionage officer to senior field commander of complex global programs and as a Chief of Station. During his intermittent assignments to Washington, he served in a number of senior positions in the Soviet/Eastern European Affairs Division where he oversaw operations against the Soviet Union, was Chief for Policy and the leader of a major joint CIA-NSA program that was significant in both its scope and impact. He was the founding Director of the Center for the Study for Intelligence, and, as his last assignment, was selected by the Director to be the inaugural holder of the Richard Helms Chair where he was able to work with the next generation of operations officers to prepare them to conduct overseas operations.
Joe received numerous distinctions and awards during his CIA service including the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Medal of Merit, the Director’s Award, was a two time recipient of the Donovan award and also received the National HUMINT Collector of the Year Award.
After retiring, Joe joined Booz Allen Hamilton where he played a leadership role with the Collection Concepts Development Center which was created to develop new ideas for Intelligence collection at the direction of the Associate Director of Central Intelligence. In his later years, he continued to work on a broad range of intelligence issues for the CIA in a consulting capacity.
In his personal life, Joe loved music, art, languages, poetry and the stoic philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. His favorite musical piece was by Johann Sebastian Bach - partita for solo violin Number 2 in D minor and two poems he especially cherished were Alive Together by Lisel Mueller and Ithaca by C.P. Cavafy. He also frequently cited T.S. Eliot, whose collective works were always close at at hand. As C.P. Cavafy began his poem Ithaca, “as you begin your journey, pray that it is a long one, filled with many adventures” and so it was. From his first job working with steel at a factory in Patterson, New Jersey to living in places that he would never have imagined visiting as a child; where life began for him in very modest circumstances, he lived his life fully and completely.
As gratifying as his professional life was, Joe’s richest source of satisfaction and inspiration were the moments of human contact which filled his memory. A humble man with the highest degree of integrity, courage and human decency, he believed in the ability of others and the collective to do great and impactful things. The personal relationships he forged and the connections that were made were among his most precious and sustaining memories.
Shaped by a series of mentors, Joe in turn, was a great coach and mentor for people of all levels, but he was especially energized by his interactions with the next generation of leaders, beginning their professional journey. He had time, a smile and an encouraging word for everyone and leaves a legacy throughout the mid to senior level ranks in the intelligence community who benefited greatly from their interactions with him. He also believed deeply in his obligation to help others, support people in times of difficulty, share wisdom in times of uncertainty and share credit for success widely; one of his favorite expressions was “we did that.”
Joe was committed to solving difficult and sometimes intractable problems in a highly collaborative and cross-disciplinary way, believing there was always plenty of knowledge left out there to find. As a life long learner, who had recently become interested in quantum computing, he felt deeply that through the study of many fields of human knowledge, and engagement with experts in diverse areas with different and varying perspectives, lessons learned or creative ways to solve problems would come into being; whether that perspective was from a beekeeper, musician or poet.
At the conclusion of his wonderful opera Candide, Leonard Bernstein and the poet Richard Wilbur, his gifted librettist, create one of the most moving scenes in musical theatre. After their journeys of misadventure, the two main characters turn to each other and sing their commitment to “do the best we know.” The elegant simplicity of that statement resounds as the mighty chorus echoes the words “to do the best we know.” That is what he hoped for himself and and that is what he brought to the world. He will be deeply missed but always by our side.
Joe attended the Unversity of Wisconsin as an undergraduate and attended graduate school at both Stanford (Phd program in Humanities) and Princeton (Woodrow Wilson School). After completing his studies at Princeton, he joined the staff of the Woodrow Wilson School before rejoining the CIA.
Joe is survived by his beloved and cherished wife of over 55 years Marbeth; the sons and daughters-in-law he was proud of; Eric and Mark and their wives Terri and Marianne respectively, his sisters Mary Jean and Betty Ann for whom he cared deeply and his grand daughter Raegan Elizabeth who he adored and took particular pride in her musical gifts, intellectual curiosity and interest in the wider world.
Summary of comments I made during funeral of Joseph P Hayes, with a few additions:
1. I would like to elaborate on the point that Mr. Tenet made regarding Joe’s mentorship of so many young people in our business. At one point only a few years ago, long after his retirement from CIA and while still employed by Booz Allen Hamilton, Joe was mentoring at least the following four people:
- a young woman with a PhD who was about to enter a White House fellowship and sought his wisdom regarding the role of intelligence in her specialty of counterterrorism
- a young man who had recently been fired by one of the Department of Energy National Laboratories. Accused of violating security protocols at the Laboratory, this man was filing a lawsuit protesting his termination, and had been referred to Joe as a potential source of wisdom. He won his suit and today is a successful cybersecurity consultant
- a young man in Princeton who was writing an excellent research paper addressing a creative approach to cybersecurity. This man had no technical training, was not in the computer science program, and had been referred to Joe (by a woman he was also mentoring there) for some guidance. Today this young man is another successful cybersecurity consultant
- A young woman who was the daughter of a Russian linguist. She was seeking some advice from Joe regarding her own possible entrance into the intelligence business.
There were many others, but these are just a few of the specifics that Joe shared with me. He was always willing to help, on his own time and with great energy. Many of the people I see here today have been beneficiaries of Joe’s mentoring.
2. Joe truly cared for other people, and showed great interest in their personal goals and family members. Because of his incredible memory, he would sometimes meet people he had not seen for years and inquire about their children by name.
But it is NOT true that Joe truly loved ALL of the people he met during his career. I used to say that Joe absolutely loved every one he ever met in the Agency EXCEPT FOUR, and those four know who they are!! What did these people do to deserve to be this category? They lied to Joe, manipulated his staff, gave or took credit for accomplishments of his staff, and otherwise were just dishonest. In a mission where those characteristics were OK when dealing with our adversaries, Joe would never tolerate them when dealing with him or especially his staff.
3. To say that Joe had a way with words would not capture his incredible gift for both the spoken and written word. I was in several working groups with Joe, and he would always listen for a while, ask a few questions, and eventually come up with an observation that would totally refocus the group in a new direction. Once part of a review group studying the impact of cryptanalysis to signals intelligence, Joe observed that cryptanalysis is essentially the “oxygen” of the entire signals intelligence business. In a group struggling with how to consider the cyber domain, Joe offered that we were really talking about a new “cyberecology.” All of the papers he has written on almost any topic are worth saving and will hopefully be material for a published work some day.
4. But Joe would not forgive me if I failed to mention that, while a very serious person most of the time, he also had a sense of humor – one that I can only describe as “impish.”
Joe and I each had private offices at Booz Allen for several years, but one day the overhead people took charge and we were told that we would have to share an office. Because I had been there longer, the movers put my desk by the window and when Joe noticed me there, he made a comment that caused me to offer to switch. “No no I am never here anyway – not a problem.’ said Joe. Less than a week later, I got word that Joe was in Reston Hospital with great pains and no one know what the issue was. So I got over there quickly, found his room and heard him moaning as I walked in. “Joe, its Bob. Do they know what is wrong, causing your pain? mmmmitemmmm. Joe, something about light? Light what? Mmmmlightmmmm. Joe what about light? He opened his eyes and looked directly at me and said “light deprivation” because YOU GOT THE WINDOW!!
5. In his last moments Joe told me that I was “the brother he never had.” I was deeply honored by that, and have always felt the same. Our world has lost a true giant, and I have to believe that another world has gained one.
Senior Central Intelligence Agency Officer
Joseph P. Hayes, who spent nearly thirty five years as a clandestine services officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, and who was later associated with Booz Allen Hamilton, died on February 10th, 2019 in Fairfax, Virginia.
Joe loved this country and the promises of this country; he was a great patriot with an immense passion for the mission and an equally deep compassion for those who carry it out. He believed in the enduring idea of liberty and freedom, that Communism and the USSR were the clear and direct threat of his age and was gratified to have seen the fall of The Berlin Wall; a piece of which was a treasured possession.
Joe’s principal interests in the Intelligence world included the relationship between technology and human intelligence; the challenge of fostering, nurturing and embracing creativity and innovation in high-security intelligence enterprises; and realizing the potential of multinational intelligence and security partnerships against problems of common concern.
Over the course of his career, Joe served in seven foreign locations in Central and Eastern Europe and the Far East in positions ranging from classical espionage officer to senior field commander of complex global programs and as a Chief of Station. During his intermittent assignments to Washington, he served in a number of senior positions in the Soviet/Eastern European Affairs Division where he oversaw operations against the Soviet Union, was Chief for Policy and the leader of a major joint CIA-NSA program that was significant in both its scope and impact. He was the founding Director of the Center for the Study for Intelligence, and, as his last assignment, was selected by the Director to be the inaugural holder of the Richard Helms Chair where he was able to work with the next generation of operations officers to prepare them to conduct overseas operations.
Joe received numerous distinctions and awards during his CIA service including the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Medal of Merit, the Director’s Award, was a two time recipient of the Donovan award and also received the National HUMINT Collector of the Year Award.
After retiring, Joe joined Booz Allen Hamilton where he played a leadership role with the Collection Concepts Development Center which was created to develop new ideas for Intelligence collection at the direction of the Associate Director of Central Intelligence. In his later years, he continued to work on a broad range of intelligence issues for the CIA in a consulting capacity.
In his personal life, Joe loved music, art, languages, poetry and the stoic philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. His favorite musical piece was by Johann Sebastian Bach - partita for solo violin Number 2 in D minor and two poems he especially cherished were Alive Together by Lisel Mueller and Ithaca by C.P. Cavafy. He also frequently cited T.S. Eliot, whose collective works were always close at at hand. As C.P. Cavafy began his poem Ithaca, “as you begin your journey, pray that it is a long one, filled with many adventures” and so it was. From his first job working with steel at a factory in Patterson, New Jersey to living in places that he would never have imagined visiting as a child; where life began for him in very modest circumstances, he lived his life fully and completely.
As gratifying as his professional life was, Joe’s richest source of satisfaction and inspiration were the moments of human contact which filled his memory. A humble man with the highest degree of integrity, courage and human decency, he believed in the ability of others and the collective to do great and impactful things. The personal relationships he forged and the connections that were made were among his most precious and sustaining memories.
Shaped by a series of mentors, Joe in turn, was a great coach and mentor for people of all levels, but he was especially energized by his interactions with the next generation of leaders, beginning their professional journey. He had time, a smile and an encouraging word for everyone and leaves a legacy throughout the mid to senior level ranks in the intelligence community who benefited greatly from their interactions with him. He also believed deeply in his obligation to help others, support people in times of difficulty, share wisdom in times of uncertainty and share credit for success widely; one of his favorite expressions was “we did that.”
Joe was committed to solving difficult and sometimes intractable problems in a highly collaborative and cross-disciplinary way, believing there was always plenty of knowledge left out there to find. As a life long learner, who had recently become interested in quantum computing, he felt deeply that through the study of many fields of human knowledge, and engagement with experts in diverse areas with different and varying perspectives, lessons learned or creative ways to solve problems would come into being; whether that perspective was from a beekeeper, musician or poet.
At the conclusion of his wonderful opera Candide, Leonard Bernstein and the poet Richard Wilbur, his gifted librettist, create one of the most moving scenes in musical theatre. After their journeys of misadventure, the two main characters turn to each other and sing their commitment to “do the best we know.” The elegant simplicity of that statement resounds as the mighty chorus echoes the words “to do the best we know.” That is what he hoped for himself and and that is what he brought to the world. He will be deeply missed but always by our side.
Joe attended the Unversity of Wisconsin as an undergraduate and attended graduate school at both Stanford (Phd program in Humanities) and Princeton (Woodrow Wilson School). After completing his studies at Princeton, he joined the staff of the Woodrow Wilson School before rejoining the CIA.
Joe is survived by his beloved and cherished wife of over 55 years Marbeth; the sons and daughters-in-law he was proud of; Eric and Mark and their wives Terri and Marianne respectively, his sisters Mary Jean and Betty Ann for whom he cared deeply and his grand daughter Raegan Elizabeth who he adored and took particular pride in her musical gifts, intellectual curiosity and interest in the wider world.
Summary of comments I made during funeral of Joseph P Hayes, with a few additions:
1. I would like to elaborate on the point that Mr. Tenet made regarding Joe’s mentorship of so many young people in our business. At one point only a few years ago, long after his retirement from CIA and while still employed by Booz Allen Hamilton, Joe was mentoring at least the following four people:
- a young woman with a PhD who was about to enter a White House fellowship and sought his wisdom regarding the role of intelligence in her specialty of counterterrorism
- a young man who had recently been fired by one of the Department of Energy National Laboratories. Accused of violating security protocols at the Laboratory, this man was filing a lawsuit protesting his termination, and had been referred to Joe as a potential source of wisdom. He won his suit and today is a successful cybersecurity consultant
- a young man in Princeton who was writing an excellent research paper addressing a creative approach to cybersecurity. This man had no technical training, was not in the computer science program, and had been referred to Joe (by a woman he was also mentoring there) for some guidance. Today this young man is another successful cybersecurity consultant
- A young woman who was the daughter of a Russian linguist. She was seeking some advice from Joe regarding her own possible entrance into the intelligence business.
There were many others, but these are just a few of the specifics that Joe shared with me. He was always willing to help, on his own time and with great energy. Many of the people I see here today have been beneficiaries of Joe’s mentoring.
2. Joe truly cared for other people, and showed great interest in their personal goals and family members. Because of his incredible memory, he would sometimes meet people he had not seen for years and inquire about their children by name.
But it is NOT true that Joe truly loved ALL of the people he met during his career. I used to say that Joe absolutely loved every one he ever met in the Agency EXCEPT FOUR, and those four know who they are!! What did these people do to deserve to be this category? They lied to Joe, manipulated his staff, gave or took credit for accomplishments of his staff, and otherwise were just dishonest. In a mission where those characteristics were OK when dealing with our adversaries, Joe would never tolerate them when dealing with him or especially his staff.
3. To say that Joe had a way with words would not capture his incredible gift for both the spoken and written word. I was in several working groups with Joe, and he would always listen for a while, ask a few questions, and eventually come up with an observation that would totally refocus the group in a new direction. Once part of a review group studying the impact of cryptanalysis to signals intelligence, Joe observed that cryptanalysis is essentially the “oxygen” of the entire signals intelligence business. In a group struggling with how to consider the cyber domain, Joe offered that we were really talking about a new “cyberecology.” All of the papers he has written on almost any topic are worth saving and will hopefully be material for a published work some day.
4. But Joe would not forgive me if I failed to mention that, while a very serious person most of the time, he also had a sense of humor – one that I can only describe as “impish.”
Joe and I each had private offices at Booz Allen for several years, but one day the overhead people took charge and we were told that we would have to share an office. Because I had been there longer, the movers put my desk by the window and when Joe noticed me there, he made a comment that caused me to offer to switch. “No no I am never here anyway – not a problem.’ said Joe. Less than a week later, I got word that Joe was in Reston Hospital with great pains and no one know what the issue was. So I got over there quickly, found his room and heard him moaning as I walked in. “Joe, its Bob. Do they know what is wrong, causing your pain? mmmmitemmmm. Joe, something about light? Light what? Mmmmlightmmmm. Joe what about light? He opened his eyes and looked directly at me and said “light deprivation” because YOU GOT THE WINDOW!!
5. In his last moments Joe told me that I was “the brother he never had.” I was deeply honored by that, and have always felt the same. Our world has lost a true giant, and I have to believe that another world has gained one.
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A memorial tree was planted in memory of the decedent.
A memorial tree was planted in memory of the decedent.
We will always cherish memories of Joe from Bonn and Bern. Gracious, thoughtful, clever, serious, and funny. A true gentleman with a serious mission.
May the entire family be comforted by a life well lived, that touched so many with his insights and humor. His memory lives on.
Jim and Gale Wallar
Joe was a real gentleman and scholar. And during his career was a steady hand, a calm, cool and collected leader who inspired by example and his thoughtful approach to the many challenges we faced during the Cold War.
A memorial tree was planted in memory of the decedent.
I had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to work for Joe during our tour in Budapest. Although I was a low ranking officer Joe never thought of or treated anyone but as an equal. We worked closely and I have many fond memories of him and the family. Marbeth and the kids are an exceptional family and I enjoyed times being spent with them. Joe was very proud of his family and rightfully so. They don’t come any better then Mr. Hayes. So sorry to hear of his passing and hope his family are doing well
under the circumstances. I know he will be missed by all his friends and co-workers. Bob Walling
Joe was the best mentor a young officer could hope for. We shared a passion to fight communism and to liberate the oppressed. My prayers are with your family.
A wonderful person and leader who was always an inspiration and pleasure to work with! Very sad to hear this news. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.