Days of our Lives' Denise DuBarry Hay dead at 63

Former Days of our Lives star Denise DuBarry Hay (ex-Linda Caffrey / Twyla) has died after losing a battle with a rare, deadly fungus.

Denise DuBarry Hay, known for her roles as Linda Caffrey on Days of our Lives and Heather on The Love Boat, passed away over the weekend after battling a deadly fungus. She was 63.

Hay began her acting career with roles on television shows like Black Sheep Squadron, CHiPs, The Love Boat, and Charlie's Angels. The Texas native then went on to play Days of our Lives' Twyla / Linda Caffrey; she stayed with the soap from 1990 to 1993.

Though it's been over two decades since Hay starred on DAYS, she has a recent connection to the NBC soap opera: just last year, she executive produced and acted in Walk to Vegas, which stars Eileen Davidson (ex-Kristen DiMera, DAYS; ex-Ashley Abbott, The Young and the Restless) and was written by Davidson's husband, Vince Van Patten.

In addition to acting, Hays co-founded Thane International, a global direct response company, with her husband, Bill Hay. She also started Kaswit, Inc., an incubator for home and health products. The two business ventures eventually led to Ernst & Young naming Hay as Entrepreneur of the Year in 1998, and in 2000, Response Magazine included her in its list of the "21 People Leading Us Into the 21st Century."

Some of Hay's other noteworthy achievements include being one of the leading philanthropists in the Coachella Valley, helping the Olive Crest nonprofit for abused and at-risk children, and also becoming a founder and president of the Palm Springs Women in Film and Television, working to separate the Coachella Valley as a film market for producers.

Hays is survived by her husband, Bill; children Adam, Samantha, Kyle, and Whitney; parents, Pete and Betty; three sisters, Audrey, Diana, and Suzanne; and two grandchildren.

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Hays's husband shares that a private celebration of life will be held in April.

What are your favorite memories of Denise DuBarry Hay's time on Days of our Lives? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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