Dayton Foster Hale Jr.

(September 03, 1950 - August 08, 2022 )

Dayton Foster Hale, Jr. died August 8, 2022, in Tuscaloosa at the age of 71. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., August 19, 2022, at First Presbyterian with the Reverend Michael Bailey and Reverend Randolph Patterson, Dayton's first cousin, officiating. The family will receive friends immediately following the service at the family residence.

Dayton was preceded in death by his parents, Dayton F. Hale, Sr. and Frances Wright Hale.

Survivors include his wife, Charlotte B. Hale, his children, Dayton F. Hale III (Sharon), and Frances Hale Pruett (William Radford); sister, Susan Hale Prout (Norton); brother, Wright Williams Hale (Lisa); aunt, Nancy L. Wright; grandchildren, Radford Hale Pruett, Dayton Foster Hale IV, William Andrew Pruett II, Elysabeth Barbour Hale, and Henry Harrison Pruett; numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and their children and grandchildren.

Born in 1950, Dayton grew up in downtown Tuscaloosa developing many close friendships that endured throughout his life. He lived in the same family home where his father, Dayton F. Hale, Sr. lived for more than 60 years. He was a Black Bear at Tuscaloosa High School, and at 5 foot, 4 inches tall, he was even a defensive back on the football team. 

In 1968, he enrolled at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and spent four great years there. As a direct descendant of Wade Hampton Foster (a founding father of the Mother Mu SAE chapter in Tuscaloosa), Dayton had no choice other than to pledge SAE at Vandy. He developed lifelong relationships there with friends from Mobile, Birmingham, Atlanta, Nashville, and Memphis, among many other locales. In addition to a rigorous social and academic schedule, he participated in the Vanderbilt naval ROTC program. Many of his friends often quipped how odd it was that a landlocked town in the middle of Tennessee had such a historic naval program. 

After matriculating from Vanderbilt, he began his requisite four years of military service. Over the next few years, he saw the world, serving on the USS Lawe and the USS Putnam. He was stationed in New Orleans for two years and was deployed to the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean and Caribbean. Achieving the rank of Lieutenant, his dedication to his country endured his entire life. He was a true patriot. 

After eight years of college and naval service, Dayton returned to Tuscaloosa to begin his career. Having grown up in a family full of lawyers, he enrolled at the University of Alabama School of Law. His first year, he booked his Torts class, and one classmate recently joked that his professors would not call on him because they were scared of him. Toward the end of his time in law school, he met a recent UA law graduate named Charlotte Bentley of Birmingham. Despite her family ties to the University of Tennessee, they began dating and thereafter were together for 42 years- a perfect supporting tandem.  

One mutual accomplishment of note was Dayton and Charlotte’s tireless resurrection and restoration of the historic Little Hale House in downtown Tuscaloosa. Despite its name, the “Little” in the home name is not a statement on the diminutive stature of most members of the Hale family. It is, however, one of their greatest accomplishments and has entertained family friends, football fans and the like from all corners of the globe for 40+ years. Dayton and Charlotte’s relationship allowed for success in every avenue of Dayton’s life- business, family, social, and other.

Toward the end of his law school stint, a nascent industry in West Alabama caught his eye. Coming from a family with natural resources and real estate interests, he noticed the budding coalbed methane industry in the Black Warrior Basin. Founding Hawkeye Oil and Gas, Inc. with his father and brother, they began buying oil, gas and mineral leases in Tuscaloosa and other outlying counties and did not quit for 40 years. Over the years he leased and purchased mineral acreage in Alabama, Mississippi and other states, and employed hundreds of landmen, attorneys, and other office personnel. He partnered with oil companies from all over the country and developed deep relationships with folks in the industry. Dayton and Hawkeye were instrumental in pioneering the development of coalbed methane in the state of Alabama. He fostered a palpable love for the oil and gas business and relished every day of the years he spent actively running Hawkeye. 

Outside of his professional life, Dayton was an intellectual, a poet, a humorist, a lyricist, a golfer, a hunter, a practical joker, and a father- to name a few. He played golf with friends in North Carolina, Chicago, Florida, Scotland, Oregon, and Alabama- among many other places. He was an active member at Northriver Yacht Club for decades as well, and his weapon of choice on a Dollarhide deer drive was a volume of Winston Churchill’s Memoirs. He had a Brittany Spaniel named Katie for over 40 years, and when asked by his daughter what he would name his fourth Brittany Spaniel, he responded, “I think I’ll name her Katie.”

He had fond memories sailing with Dayton, Sr. in the Florida Keys, the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and up and down the Eastern Seaboard. He served on boards, belonged to clubs and supported many charities, but was proudest of succeeding his father as the sponsor for the Friends of Bryce. For 40 years he and his special committee provided needed extras for patients at Bryce Hospital, including the annual Christmas party (Santa attended) for the patients. For many of them this was the highlight of their year.                                   

Dayton loved the written word, whether writing published poetry in law school, handwritten letters to his children, or recrafting operas that included his golf buddies as protagonists. He was a dedicated father, husband, and grandfather, and his ability to teach other people was unrivaled. Just the right amount of firmness, but with the appropriate touch of compassion.  He was at his finest as a grandfather (Pappy). Whether instructing the grandkids on their golf swing or jump shot or encouraging from the ballfield stands, he was always relaying invaluable lessons to the next generation. His mind was his gift to the world, and those that witnessed it knew it was something special. He will be missed immensely, and as he so eloquently quoted in his diligently and perfectly penned obituary for his own father, “It was a life well lived.”

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hospice of West Alabama, First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa, or the donor's favorite charity.  

Dayton Foster Hale Jr.

(September 03, 1950 - August 08, 2022 )

Dayton Foster Hale, Jr. died August 8, 2022, in Tuscaloosa at the age of 71. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., August 19, 2022, at First Presbyterian with the Reverend Michael Bailey and Reverend Randolph Patterson, Dayton's first cousin, officiating. The family will receive friends immediately following the service at the family residence.

Dayton was preceded in death by his parents, Dayton F. Hale, Sr. and Frances Wright Hale.

Survivors include his wife, Charlotte B. Hale, his children, Dayton F. Hale III (Sharon), and Frances Hale Pruett (William Radford); sister, Susan Hale Prout (Norton); brother, Wright Williams Hale (Lisa); aunt, Nancy L. Wright; grandchildren, Radford Hale Pruett, Dayton Foster Hale IV, William Andrew Pruett II, Elysabeth Barbour Hale, and Henry Harrison Pruett; numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and their children and grandchildren.

Born in 1950, Dayton grew up in downtown Tuscaloosa developing many close friendships that endured throughout his life. He lived in the same family home where his father, Dayton F. Hale, Sr. lived for more than 60 years. He was a Black Bear at Tuscaloosa High School, and at 5 foot, 4 inches tall, he was even a defensive back on the football team. 

In 1968, he enrolled at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and spent four great years there. As a direct descendant of Wade Hampton Foster (a founding father of the Mother Mu SAE chapter in Tuscaloosa), Dayton had no choice other than to pledge SAE at Vandy. He developed lifelong relationships there with friends from Mobile, Birmingham, Atlanta, Nashville, and Memphis, among many other locales. In addition to a rigorous social and academic schedule, he participated in the Vanderbilt naval ROTC program. Many of his friends often quipped how odd it was that a landlocked town in the middle of Tennessee had such a historic naval program. 

After matriculating from Vanderbilt, he began his requisite four years of military service. Over the next few years, he saw the world, serving on the USS Lawe and the USS Putnam. He was stationed in New Orleans for two years and was deployed to the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean and Caribbean. Achieving the rank of Lieutenant, his dedication to his country endured his entire life. He was a true patriot. 

After eight years of college and naval service, Dayton returned to Tuscaloosa to begin his career. Having grown up in a family full of lawyers, he enrolled at the University of Alabama School of Law. His first year, he booked his Torts class, and one classmate recently joked that his professors would not call on him because they were scared of him. Toward the end of his time in law school, he met a recent UA law graduate named Charlotte Bentley of Birmingham. Despite her family ties to the University of Tennessee, they began dating and thereafter were together for 42 years- a perfect supporting tandem.  

One mutual accomplishment of note was Dayton and Charlotte’s tireless resurrection and restoration of the historic Little Hale House in downtown Tuscaloosa. Despite its name, the “Little” in the home name is not a statement on the diminutive stature of most members of the Hale family. It is, however, one of their greatest accomplishments and has entertained family friends, football fans and the like from all corners of the globe for 40+ years. Dayton and Charlotte’s relationship allowed for success in every avenue of Dayton’s life- business, family, social, and other.

Toward the end of his law school stint, a nascent industry in West Alabama caught his eye. Coming from a family with natural resources and real estate interests, he noticed the budding coalbed methane industry in the Black Warrior Basin. Founding Hawkeye Oil and Gas, Inc. with his father and brother, they began buying oil, gas and mineral leases in Tuscaloosa and other outlying counties and did not quit for 40 years. Over the years he leased and purchased mineral acreage in Alabama, Mississippi and other states, and employed hundreds of landmen, attorneys, and other office personnel. He partnered with oil companies from all over the country and developed deep relationships with folks in the industry. Dayton and Hawkeye were instrumental in pioneering the development of coalbed methane in the state of Alabama. He fostered a palpable love for the oil and gas business and relished every day of the years he spent actively running Hawkeye. 

Outside of his professional life, Dayton was an intellectual, a poet, a humorist, a lyricist, a golfer, a hunter, a practical joker, and a father- to name a few. He played golf with friends in North Carolina, Chicago, Florida, Scotland, Oregon, and Alabama- among many other places. He was an active member at Northriver Yacht Club for decades as well, and his weapon of choice on a Dollarhide deer drive was a volume of Winston Churchill’s Memoirs. He had a Brittany Spaniel named Katie for over 40 years, and when asked by his daughter what he would name his fourth Brittany Spaniel, he responded, “I think I’ll name her Katie.”

He had fond memories sailing with Dayton, Sr. in the Florida Keys, the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and up and down the Eastern Seaboard. He served on boards, belonged to clubs and supported many charities, but was proudest of succeeding his father as the sponsor for the Friends of Bryce. For 40 years he and his special committee provided needed extras for patients at Bryce Hospital, including the annual Christmas party (Santa attended) for the patients. For many of them this was the highlight of their year.                                   

Dayton loved the written word, whether writing published poetry in law school, handwritten letters to his children, or recrafting operas that included his golf buddies as protagonists. He was a dedicated father, husband, and grandfather, and his ability to teach other people was unrivaled. Just the right amount of firmness, but with the appropriate touch of compassion.  He was at his finest as a grandfather (Pappy). Whether instructing the grandkids on their golf swing or jump shot or encouraging from the ballfield stands, he was always relaying invaluable lessons to the next generation. His mind was his gift to the world, and those that witnessed it knew it was something special. He will be missed immensely, and as he so eloquently quoted in his diligently and perfectly penned obituary for his own father, “It was a life well lived.”

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hospice of West Alabama, First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa, or the donor's favorite charity.