In loving memory of

Hayden Russell Willett

June 13, 2007 – December 18, 2024

Lived 17 years

Hardin Memorial Gardens · Elizabethtown, KY

LIVE LIKE HAYDEN Be kind. Speak with confidence. Dream big. Love your family. Make friends wherever you go. Share your humor and wit. Give more than you take. Be grateful for all you have. Worry less. PLAY LIKE #27 Work hard year round. Play for your team, not just yourself. Lift up your teammates. Step up in tough situations. Never let opponents see you sweat. Be like water and go with the flow.

Life story

Hayden Russell Willett was born on June 13, 2007 in Elizabethtown, Kentucky to Kristin and Scott Willett. He was a talented left handed pitcher with a filthy fastball, a first baseman who could make a dig, a supportive teammate on the Elizabethtown Varsity Baseball team, an Asbury University Baseball signee, the 2020 Sonny Chaput Award Co-Winner, a student-athlete who understood the meaning of having Panther Pride, a young man who was passionate about public speaking and government, a six year participant in the Y Club and Kentucky Youth Assembly, the peer elected 2024 Kentucky Youth Assembly Governor for KYA 4, a National Council on Youth Leadership Youth Salute delegate, a 2023 Hardin County Youth Leadership representative, a member of the Kentucky Baseball Prime National, Rawlings Tigers Velo, Heartland Hustle and Elizabethtown Dirtbags travel teams. However, if you were lucky enough to know Hayden personally, then you also know he loved watching the weather. He was constantly checking the Weather Channel - and all other models - when there was even the slightest mention of a major weather event. He also lived to engage anyone in a political debate. He loved to go toe to toe, fact for fact, with all the information he personally researched. He loved every history class he ever took and never viewed those assignments as work. He spent his free time in the gym working out, vacationing in Key West with his family, playing Rocket League, and cheering on the Kentucky Wildcats. He was a gentle giant and social butterfly. He found his voice being an advocate for himself and others at an early age. He easily became a friend to anyone he could start a conversation with. He had the best sense of humor and the biggest heart for others. Hayden’s witty one line replies will be missed by all. He made his family proud on the field, at the podium, and in the classroom. He was deeply loved by his parents and was the best big brother to his younger brother, Carter.

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