Raymond Hasse Obituary
Raymond John Hasse, 86, a resident of View Point Retirement Community, died in his sleep on December 1 of complications from congestive heart failure. He is survived by his three children: Constance Weber and her husband, Bruce of Colorado Springs and their two children Jennifer and Andrew; Carol Joan Hasse and her husband, John Dionne of Pepperell, MA; Eric R. Hasse and his wife, Jane Sherwin of Norwich, VT and her two children, Ryder and Zephyr. He is survived as well by a sister, Norma Wetzel of Chaska, MN and a host of dear friends across the country and one very special friend at View Point. Raymond was preceded in death by his wife, Anita Betty Hasse. He was a retired Personnel Research consultant for IBM. He had moved to Colorado Springs in 2000 to "fish and hike in the mountains" leaving his home of 32 years in Stamford, CT. Born on July 20, 1921 in Waconia, Minnesota the youngest of four children, to Emma and Ernst Hasse, Ray was raised on the family farm during the years of the Great Depression. Upon graduating from high school, he joined the Navy where he earned his pilot's wings, flying home to attend his sister, Norma's wedding in the days when airplanes were a rarity in the skies especially over the farm fields of southwestern Minnesota. After the end of World War II, he attended college at San Jose State while working days as a flight instructor at Moffat Field. One day a bright young lady went up for a flight with Ray. He was utterly aghast upon looking behind himself in the two-seater cockpit, and discovering that she had slipped out of her safety harness and was hanging halfway out of the plane snapping pictures. Well, something else snapped that day and on July 11th, 1948, Ray and Anita began 49 years of married life together: 17 of which were spent in Los Altos, CA where each of three children were born, and, after a career move with IBM, 32 more in Stamford, CT. He maintained a zest for life and an independent lifestyle to the last with a passionate interest in photography, trout fishing, gardening, cooking, and leading a variety of discussion groups on his favorite topic: the human growth potential and self-
actualization movement. He cherished his family more than words can say.
Published by The Gazette on Dec. 12, 2007.