JOHNNY PINCHES MEMORIAL ON JULY 26TH
Please join the family and friends of John Pinches for a memorial celebrating his life and many accomplishments. John’s memorial will be held on Saturday, July 26 at the Laytonville Rodeo Grounds. Gates open at 1 p.m., memorial gets underway around 2 p.m. Please bring a potluck dish, photos, stories and memories of John to share.
The Laytonville Rodeo Association will host a 21+ older bar, so if you plan to raise a glass of brew for John, bring some bucks to toss to the Rodeo, something John started.
For more information, please call June @ (707) 272-1260.
John’s family would like to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and support-we hope to see you there!
(Jim Shields)
JACK HAYE
Jack Haye and his ex-wife raised 3 kids in Fort Bragg. He was an amazing carpenter, builder; napkin artist at Seagull Cellar bar; worked at Industrial Light and Magic with George Lucas and a legend at Burning Man over 25 years supervising the building of “The Man”! — Will Lee, Fort Bragg
Jack Haye AKA Opa, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, artist, mentor, and cherished friend, passed away peacefully at his Petaluma home surrounded by family on July 3, 2025. As was his request, those in attendance sang along to Brokedown Palace by the Grateful Dead as he crossed over-a fitting tribute to a life lived fully and creatively.
Born on June 20, 1953, in The Hague, Netherlands, Jack was the son of Dutch-Indonesian parents, Willy Haije and Ilse Haije nee Boon. After generations in the former Dutch East Indies and a short time in the Netherlands following World War II, Jack and his family immigrated to the United States when he was five years old. The family survived four years in prison camps during the war-a time of profound hardship. Though he rarely spoke of it, that legacy of resilience and immigration echoed throughout Jack's life, reflected in his kindness, humor, generosity, belief in collective strength, and enduring faith in the outsider.
He grew up in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles and graduated from Sierra Vista High School in Baldwin Park in 1971.
Throughout his life, Jack wore many hats-both literally and figuratively. A skilled carpenter in his early years, he built custom homes around Mendocino, California, before joining the pioneering visual effects team at Industrial Light & Magic. There he contributed to films as diverse as Back to the Future Part III, Mars Attacks!, The Phantom Menace, Minority Report, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Transformers, to name just a few. He was a founding member of the Visual Effects Society and a proud member of IATSE Local 16, serving as a union representative, stagehand, and technician on countless productions.
For more than 27 years, Jack was an integral and legendary part of the Burning Man community, bringing art, light, and joyful irreverence to the desert and beyond. In 2000, he collaborated on the creation of The Temple of the Mind, followed in 2001 by The Temple of Tears. This space of contemplation and remembrance became a pivotal part of the Burning Man experience-a place to honor those we have lost. He later became a key member of the Man-Base team, contributing to the design, planning, and fabrication of The Man and its surrounding pavilion. For years, he led the scrappy team responsible for the beloved Opa Lights, which continue to encircle the heart of the festival.
A longtime resident of Sonoma County, Jack was deeply involved in the local community, serving as an advisor to the Petaluma Arts Council and on the board of the Phoenix Theater. An amazing, natural born chef, he would feed legions of people on "taco nights" or whip up some spectacular "sophisticated hors d'oeuvres" for visitors and family alike.
Alongside his wife, Drew, he helped nurture the playful spirit of the downtown fixture, Heebe Jeebe General Store-whether keeping Champion the Wonder Horse running, curating and nurturing young artists at the Back House Gallery, or maintaining the old black-and-white photo booth. He was also instrumental in creating the annual Dia de los Muertos altar in the Lanmart Building.
Known for his playful spirit and deep generosity, Jack was a tinkerer, builder, creator, fixer, and collector. He loved 'the dump' as much as the gallery, believing that art could be found just as readily in a pile of rusty metal as on a canvas. Forever curious and a lifelong learner, his home brimmed with books-on everything from Napoleon and the empires of Central Asia to architecture, Elvis, shipbuilding, and obscure bridge engineering. His love of music of every flavor was legendary, attending and working endless concerts, collecting vinyl records, and old guitars. He leaves behind a legacy of artistry, mentorship, and friendship that spans decades and creative communities.
He is survived by his wife, Drew and their beloved dog Walter; step-son Henry (Nicole) their daughters, Luna and Fiona Jack; and his ex-wife, Nancy, with whom he shared three children-Aaron (Bridget), Sarah (Chris), and Mikael (Jessica)-and grandchildren Isabela, Billie, August, Caspar, Nathaniel Jack, and Magnolia. He is also survived by his brothers Robert and Jesse, and sisters Linda, Willi, and Diana. He was preceded in death by his brother Edward and his step-daughter, Phoebe, who passed away in 2008-a loss that remained close to his heart. Jack is lovingly remembered by the vast extended family he fostered in communities across the globe and by coworkers, collaborators, co-conspirators, and comrades-many of whom knew him simply as Opa or #jackwiththingsonhishead
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you create something in Jack's honor-whether it be a song, a story, a piece of art, or a simple act of kindness.
"Fare you well, my honey, fare you well, my only true one…"
Hats Off to Jack! (AKA OpaPalooza)
Please join us for a celebration of the life of Jack Haye—husband, father, grandfather, artist, mentor, mischief-maker, and beloved friend to many.
Saturday, August 9, 3:00 PM, Spring Hill Gardens, 384 Spring Hill Road, Petaluma.
Parking is limited, so please carpool if you can.
In honor of the legendary #jackwiththingsonhishead, we invite everyone to wear something on their head. A crown of flowers, a cowboy hat, a colander—surprise us.
We’ll have space for art, memory objects, musical offerings, and spontaneous tributes. If you’d like to share or display something—an artwork, a song, a story, or even a photo of Opa—we welcome it all.
Let’s gather in creativity, joy, and good trouble—as Jack would’ve wanted.
Fare you well, my honey, fare you well, my only true one — Hats Off To Jack
Brokedown Palace
by Robert Hunter (1970)
Fare you well, my honey
Fare you well, my only true one
All the birds that were singing
Are flown, except you alone
Gonna leave this brokedown palace
On my hands and my knees, I will roll, roll, roll
Make myself a bed by the waterside
In my time, in my time, I will roll, roll, roll
In a bed, in a bed
By the waterside I will lay my head
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul
River gonna take me, sing me sweet and sleepy
Sing me sweet and sleepy all the way back home
It's a far gone lullaby sung many years ago
Mama, Mama, many worlds I've come since I first left home
Going home, going home
By the waterside I will rest my bones
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul
Going to plant a weeping willow
On the bank's green edge it will grow, grow, grow
Singing a lullaby beside the water
Lovers come and go, the river will roll, roll, roll
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul
I worked with Jack on a house in Albion, in the early 80’s. He taught me some things, like when moving a pile of dirt, always work from the outside. During breaks he sometimes flew a kite. The string was attached to a fishing reel. We were in a nice windy, open space and I flew it one time. It was very relaxing.