Hugh Hailey, 64, loved Lake Rabun

Hugh Hailey fell in love with Lake Rabun at a young age.

He was 2 years old when his parents started taking him there. In 1985, he bought a place of his own. It was a one-room shack with bunk beds and one bathroom. Pipes would freeze in the winter.

“We’d lose water when it was too cold,” said his daughter, Claire McDonald of Cumming. “He added on to it and redid it, but it was still very rustic.”

Hugh Edward Hailey Jr., 64, of Mableton died Sunday from liver disease. The funeral is 11 a.m. Wednesday at McDonald & Son Funeral Home in Cumming.

Mr. Hailey grew up in Atlanta on Tuxedo Road. The 1962 Marist School graduate attended the University of Georgia on a tennis scholarship.

After college, tennis became a sport he played with friends for camaraderie and fun, not to compete.

“He never played matches, or anything,” his daughter said.

The man who loved to make people laugh had a sense for business. He was a salesman who thought customer service was crucial. In 1980, he and his wife, Shelley Hailey, started a fiber-optic communications business in the basement of their home. Today, Data Cable Corp. is located in Smryna.

Other survivors include two sons, Hugh E. Hailey III and Ridley H. Hailey, both of Atlanta; a sister, Ridley Chandler of Marietta; and five grandchildren.

— Rick Badie