FLORIDA, Mass. —  Joshua Spann Haynes, Ph.D., embraced adventure, practiced radical hospitality, and demonstrated an unwavering capacity for love, compassion, understanding, and forgiveness. Born on June 24, 1976, to Terry and Janice (Spann) Haynes, Josh grew up in Alabama and Mississippi with his older brother, Blake Haynes. His educational journey included the Alabama School of Math and Science (Mobile, AL), Tulane University (B.A. in History), the University of Mississippi (M.A. in Southern Studies), and the University of Georgia (Ph.D. in History and a Graduate Certificate in Native American Studies). Shortly after, Josh secured a Visiting Assistant Professor position in Ohio; this turned out to be even more beneficial personally than professionally—it was here, nearly 13 years ago, that he met his wife, “Dr. and Mrs. Haynes,” as he would later introduce her. Josh and Hannah (née Noel) married on January 1, 2021. The Drs. Haynes were incredibly fortunate to have found an accepting, selfless, and shared sense of sentimentality rooted in deep love, affection, adventure, respect, empathetic communication, humor, and intellectual curiosity.

Although Josh was a formidable scholar and teacher, he was clear about what was most important in life: through acts of service and words of love, embrace those you hold closest to your heart with radical openness. He inspired all those around him to live adventurously, to be open and accepting of others. On October 19, 2025, Joshua reembraced grandparents James (Papa) and Opal (Nana) Haynes, Fred and Hilda (Muner) Spann, and his beloved pets Bagels, Bosco, and Peanut. Joshua will live on through acts of service, kindness, and humility, as well as in the hearts and minds of his wife, Hannah; parents, Janice and Terry; brother, Blake (Angela); nieces, Addie and Baylee; Aunts, Joan Spann Williams, June Spann Mathews, Vicki (Bill) Brannan, Uncle Freddy (Lynne) Spann; cousins, Chris (Travis) Brannan and Joan-Carol (Rusty) McCombs; pets, Elvis and Ruth; and countless friends, mentors, and students. A humble man, those who knew Josh often learned about his accomplishments through Hannah’s relentless loquaciousness. Here, I follow that family tradition.

Dr. Haynes spent much of his professional career as an Associate Professor of Native American History. His scholarly focus was on the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in the eighteenth century. In his first book, Patrolling the Border: Theft and Violence on the Creek-Georgia Frontier, 1770-1796, published by the University of Georgia Press in 2019, Dr. Haynes uses imperial, federal, and state records to create detailed Geographic Information System maps and to offer new insights into Creek-Georgia relations and Southern Indigenous practices of politics, diplomacy, and war. Centering on the aims, methods, and effects of Creek border raids against Georgians and other EuroAmericans, Dr. Haynes argues that Indigenous raiding strategies, which he calls “border patrols,” were not random or opportunistic acts of violence but rather “acted in accord with consensus,” showing a “broad political vision of territorial integrity and political sovereignty” (13–14). These patrols, he suggests, reveal that the Creeks actively shaped their frontier relations, implying that these practices contributed to internal Creek political conflicts that paved the way for later removal policies. At the time of his passing, under contract with the University of Alabama Press in their Indians and Southern History series, his second book examines the motives, methods, and consequences of the Creek-Choctaw War (1740s). In the coming years, completed chapters from this work-in-progress will be published posthumously.

A celebration of Dr. Joshua Haynes’s life will take place on Weiss Lake in Leesburg, Alabama (details and dates will follow). With input from Josh’s closest friends across the country, Hannah will organize an outdoor adventure to share stories, libations, and community in Josh’s honor. For those of you who cannot make these events but would like to remember Josh, please do something adventurous outdoors—a hike, kayaking, a run, or whatever you choose—in his memory. Through community, we find strength.

Instead of flowers, “Dr. and Mrs. Haynes” makes the humble request that donations be made in honor of Dr. Joshua Haynes to the Fallen Riders Foundation of Brazos, Texas. This non-profit provides immediate assistance to fallen riders (and their families) after a motorcycle accident involving two and three-wheeled vehicles. Josh’s early passing, though no fault of his own, could easily have been prevented. Remember our shared humanity when facing tough days: everyone has families, love, and the right to live their lives.